ACTN3 Gene by Country 2025
- The ACTN3 577XX genotype is a variation that results in reduced strength, muscle mass, and fast-twitch fiber diameter, but increased resistance to fatigue and metabolic efficiency in skeletal muscle.
- Ln is an abbreviation for natural logarithim.
- Gene frequency data is collected from multiple studies, which vary in precision from whole percentages to hundredths of a percent.
- The Bantu peoples are an ethnolinguistic grouping of approximately 400 distinct native African ethnic groups who speak Bantu languages and display a 577XX frequency of 1%. Bantu are native to 24 countries spread over a vast area from Central Africa to Southeast Africa and into Southern Africa.
The ACTN3 Gene is a gene that affects the deficiency and muscle type a person has. It is a type of protein that is found in fast-twitch muscles, which provide a person with bursts of power and speed. It’s estimated that around 20% of the human population has a gene that is not functioning. It also has an effect on how the muscle functions overall, which could mean that it benefits athletes and other individuals when they are training.
Currently, it’s estimated that about 80% of the entire world’s population has the ACTN3 gene. However, there are some groups of people where it is more common to find this gene than others. In this article, we will learn more about those who tend to have the ACTN3 and what ethnicities have the highest levels of the gene.
There are four different ways the ACTN3 gene affects people with it. For example, it can improve their aerobic metabolism rates. It can also help make them more tolerant of the cold and can improve their athletic abilities. There are also some studies that show it is a gene that can affect someone’s overall health and longevity. The majority of people around the world have some form of the gene, so the results of these types of studies will vary.
Although most people have the gene, there are actually many different varieties out there. That’s why it is a gene that doesn’t affect everyone the same way. For example, the R allele version is a type of ACTN3 gene that produces an average amount of the protein that athletes need for speed and strength. Sprint racers, boxers, and other faster-type sports players tend to have this version of the gene. 98% of Jamaicans have this version of the ACTN3 gene.
X allele, on the other hand, causes an absence of that same protein. Instead of working on the fast-twitch muscle fibers as the R allele version does, the X allele ACTN3 gene limits these and increases the slow-twitch fibers instead. This is often the gene that people who excel at cross-country or long-distance activities tend to have.
Those with an XX ACTN3 gene have what is known as non-functioning ACTN3. This is something that is found in just 2% of Jamaicans and US African American individuals, but that is found in about 25% of Asians. Overall, 18% of Caucasians and 11% of Ethiopians also have this version of the gene.
