Genetic markers of predisposition to athletic performance in Kazakhstani combat athletes: Results of a GWAS study

Abstract

This study investigated genetic markers associated with athletic performance in Kazakhstani combat sport athletes and assessed their potential role in developing a genetic passport for personalized training. A total of 235 elite wrestlers and boxers and 172 controls were enrolled. DNA was extracted from blood and genotyped using the Illumina iScan platform (654,027 SNPs). Genome-wide association analysis was performed in PLINK, and significant variants were annotated using genomic databases. No genome-wide significant associations (p < 5 × 10⁻⁸) were observed, but several SNPs reached suggestive significance (p < 5 × 10⁻⁶). Variants in CDH13, LIMD1, and ZNF215 were most notable. The CDH13 rs79764367 G allele was enriched in wrestlers, while the A allele was associated with boxing. LIMD1 rs77194734 showed allele-specific differences between wrestling and boxing. ZNF215 rs76704889 was linked to elite-level traits in both groups. This pilot GWAS provides the first evidence of candidate genetic markers in Kazakhstani combat athletes, highlighting allele-specific differences across sports disciplines.