WANT to know if your child is naturally geared to become the next Kelly Holmes or Matthew Pinsent? A biotechnology company based in Australia has developed a DNA test that it claims can identify whether a child has the genetic make-up to excel in either sprint and power sports or endurance events.

The test, available online in kit form for about A$110 (£43) uses a DNA sample taken from a mouth swab to detect variations of a gene known as ACTN3. Studies conducted by the Australian Institute of Sport, have linked this gene to sporting potential.

Deon Venter, a director of Genetic Technologies, said: “It’s not a test that says you are going to be a winner or a loser. It’s a test that appears, on the evidence we have so far, to head people into choosing the best event and in some cases the optimal sport.”

The test identifies variations in the two copies that everyone has of the ACTN3 gene. Professor Venter said those with the “normal” variation produced a protein found in “fast-twitch” muscle fibres, giving them an edge in sprinting and power sports, such as speed skating and short-distance swimming, track and cycling events.

Those with a variation of the gene known as R577X lacked the protein, making them more suited to events requiring endurance, such as rowing and longdistance events.

Professor Venter said that the test would not put added pressure on children. “Long before this test was established, people have been pressurising children to perform,” he said.

But Andy Miah, a bioethics lecturer at the University of Paisley in Scotland and the author of Genetically Modified Athletes, said: “By using gene tests for sporting aptitude, children might be dissuaded from sports they enjoy, simply because somebody has decided that they will never be a great performer.”

Dr Miah said that genetic testing in a medical sense offered benefits for society but he urged caution with sportsrelated genetic testing. “Advocates of genetic testing in sport see it as an extension of current talent identification practices. However, this seems a little like endorsing one bad practice with another . . . Make no mistake, this is the science of engineering winners.”

However, Julian Savulescu, Professor of Practical Ethics at Oxford University, said: “Society is geared up to selecting elite athletes already and this will only mean that they are picked up a little bit earlier.”

Greg Whyte, director of science and research at the English Institute of Sport, said: “This test is possibly one small tool in the armoury. Performance is much more than this.”

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