Determination of the anxiety- related SCC6A4 gene promoter S and L alleles in Turkish Soccer Players

Abstract

One of the most important members of serotonin metabolism is serotonin transporter (5HTT), which takes the serotonin back from the synaptic cavity into the presynaptic neuron (reuptake). This protein is encoded by the SLC6A4 gene and the functional deletion / insertion mutation in the promoter region of this gene affects the transcription rate. The "S" allele is referred to be the short form of the gene and studies in this field reported its relationship with anxiety. In the present study, we aimed to determine the distribution of the short (S) and long (L) alleles of SLC6A4 gene in 44 young, successful and healthy Turkish male soccer players. Genotyping process was completed by conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) after DNA isolation. According to the results, 10 (23%) of the players had LL, 25 (57%) had LS and 9 (20%) had SS genotypes. In the allele distributions, L allele was counted as 45 (51%) and S allel as 43 (49%). It has been reported that SLC6A4 alleles show large variation in individuals with neuropsychiatric disorders compared to the healthy individuals. This is the first study to report that LL genotype and L allele are more frequent than SS genotype and S allele in Turkish young professional soccer players. Keywords: genetics, psychology, stress, talent