Football club searching for the 'Ronaldo gene'

Published on Saturday 26 April 2008 19:49

FORGET the talent scouts – get a gene test. A Scottish scientist has been asked by a football club to find the next Cristiano Ronaldo by genetic testing.

Dr Henning Wackerhage, of the school of medical sciences at Aberdeen University, revealed a professional club contacted him about the possibility of screening players to discover whether they have a genetic predisposition to athletic excellence.

Wackerhage drew the unnamed club's attention after he wrote an academic paper highlighting experiments that had produced enhanced physical performance in mice and rats, and the possibilities offered by gene screening for enhanced athletic performance.

He has since suggested that it might be possible to produce the human equivalent of a Formula 1 car by using genetic mutations.

Wackerhage said: "A football club was interested in doing genetic testing of athletes. It was a genetic performance test. My advice was that there are questions of legality with an employer doing genetic tests on its employees. They wanted to conduct a test that is specific to genetics."

Clubs are interested in a gene called ACTN3, which is found in leading sprinters.

ACTN3 is known to be linked to high proportions of fast-twitch muscle fibres, which generate much more force that other muscle fibres and help athletes run quickly and powerfully.

Wackerhage said he was not in favour of using the screening method but said the technology had potential.

Previous studies have found a possible genetic clue to sporting prowess in women. A 2006 study found that women with ring fingers longer than their index fingers are more likely to be sporty. Since hand shape is largely determined before birth, looking at a child's fingers could be a way of identifying the sporting heroines of the future.

Stars such as Sharron Davies and Dame Kelly Holmes both have longer ring than index fingers and the hands of Denise Lewis and Paula Radcliffe appear to show a similar trait.

According to one leading expert, while genes may help in finding fast runners, there are so many other factors in playing football that the Ronaldo or Pele gene is still years away. Dr Yannis Pitsiladis, of Glasgow University's Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, runs the International Centre for East African Running Science, which analyses why Africa produces so many running champions.

He said: "All the studies show that it's a combination of both nature and nurture, but the genetic science still has a long way to go. It is known that the ACTN3 gene is linked to being athletic, but it acts in combination with other genes and we are still trying to work out what they are.

"It is much more difficult to apply this science to football than to other sports such as sprinting. The genes could tell you that someone can run quickly, but you can be a good footballer even if you cannot run as fast as Ronaldo."