{
  "abstract": "This cross-sectional study examined ACTN3 rs1815739 (C/T; R577X) genotype distribution and its associations with physical performance and biological maturation in male youth football players. A total of 274 players (11–14 years, n = 166; 15–18 years, n = 108) from a professional club in North Macedonia completed Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery, linear sprint, and jump tests, including the drop jump, countermovement jump (CMJ), and squat jump (SJ). Genotype frequencies were compared with the 1000 Genomes European reference population (n = 503). ACTN3 CC (RR) genotype was more frequent in players than in the reference population (48.2% vs. 32.0%; OR = 1.97, 95% CI 1.46–2.67, p < 0.0001), as was the C (R) allele (OR = 1.34, 95% CI 1.08–1.66, p = 0.009). However, the player genotype distribution deviated from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (p < 0.001). CMJ height increased by approximately 2.3 cm per one-year increase in maturity offset (p < 0.001). In the younger cohort, TT (XX) carriers had lower Yo-Yo distance and estimated VO2max than CC and CT (RX) carriers (p = 0.007). Exploratory whole-sample models provided limited evidence that the association between maturity offset, and vertical-jump performance (CMJ, SJ) might differ by genotype; however, these interactions were not statistically significant after correction for multiple testing. No significant genotype differences were observed for sprint performance or most other jump-related outcomes. These findings indicate that ACTN3–performance associations in youth football players are modest and outcome-specific and should be interpreted cautiously given the external reference population and deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Exercise and Sports Science, Lokman Hekim University, Ankara 06510, Türkiye",
    "Graduate School of Health Sciences, Ankara University, Ankara 06290, Türkiye",
    "Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Lopukhin Federal Research and Clinical Center of Physical Chemical Medicine of Federal Medical Biological Agency, 119435 Moscow, Russia",
    "Laboratory of Genetics of Aging and Longevity, Kazan State Medical University, 420111 Kazan, Russia",
    "Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 5AF, UK",
    "Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Marmara University, Istanbul 34854, Türkiye",
    "Faculty of Physical Culture and Health, Tetova University, 1220 Tetova, North Macedonia"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Mesut Cerit"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Aysberg Şamil Önlü",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1291-821X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Ildus I. Ahmetov",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6335-4020"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Özlem Özge Yılmaz Hızarcı",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4085-6159"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Beste Tacal Aslan",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5271-7917"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Metin Dalip"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Korkut Ulucan"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9czt78vhsy4b7.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/ijms27219429",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "9czt78vhsy4b7",
  "issns": [
    "1422-0067"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9429",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1311|Genetics and Physical Performance"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223271962",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-22",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9czt78vhsy4b7.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:57Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/ijms27219429",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9429"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1311|Genetics and Physical Performance",
      "subfield": "genetics-genomics"
    }
  ],
  "title": "The Impact of the ACTN3 rs1815739 Polymorphism on Physical Performance in Youth Football Players",
  "title_text": "The Impact of the ACTN3 rs1815739 Polymorphism on Physical Performance in Youth Football Players",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:57Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9czt78vhsy4b7",
  "venue": "International Journal of Molecular Sciences",
  "versions": []
}