PPAR-α and PPARGC1A gene variants have strong effects on aerobic performance of Turkish elite endurance athletes

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of PPAR-alpha intron 7G > C and PPARGC1A gene Gly482Ser polymorphisms on aerobic performance of elite level endurance athletes. This study was carried out on 170 inviduals (60 elite level endurance athletes and 110 sedentary controls). Aerobic performance of athletes and sedentary control groups were defined by maximal oxygen uptake capacity. DNA was isolated from peripheral blood using GeneJet Genomic DNA Purification kit. Genotyping of the PPAR-alpha intron 7G > C and PPARGC1A Gly482Ser polymorphisms was performed using PCR-RFLP methods, and statistical evaluations were carried out using SPSS 15.0. Mean age of athletes were 21.38 +/- A 2.83 (18-29) and control mean age were 25.92 +/- A 4.88 (18-35). Mean maximal oxygen consumption of athletes were 42.14 +/- A 7.6 ml/(kg min) and controls were 34.33 +/- A 5.43 ml/(kg min). We found statistically significant differences between the athlete and control groups with respect to both PPAR-alpha and PPARGC1A genotype distributions (p = 0.006, < 0.001, respectively) and allele frequencies (< 0.001, < 0.001, respectively). Additionally, when we examined PPAR-alpha and PPARGC1A genotype distributions according to the aerobic performance test parameters, we found a statistically significant association between velocity, time and maximal oxygen consumption and PPAR-alpha and PPARGC1A genotypes (p < 0.001). To our knowledge, this is the first study in Turkey examined PPAR-alpha intron 7G > C and PPARGC1A Gly482Ser gene polymorphisms in elite level endurance athletes. Our results suggest that PPAR-alpha and PPARGC1A genes have strong effect on aerobic performance of elit level athletes.