New Delhi, March 11: A diagnostic laboratory has launched India’s first genetic test that it claims will allow parents to determine whether a child is better suited for endurance or power sports, but some scientists have questioned the utility and ethics of the tests.

Super Religare Laboratories, which has 450 collection centres across the country, has announced a “sports gene test” that it said would help parents and coaches spot potential talent early.

The company said the test would provide insights into the genetic predilection of a child towards broad classes of sports: endurance sports such as long-distance running or swimming, or power sports like sprinting or the high jump. The test does not predict ability in any particular sport but will help channel India’s training and sports resources to “higher effectiveness”, it said.

The Rs 1,900 test uses a cheek swab to examine a gene called actinin alpha-3 (ACTN3), which makes a protein that regulates energy release in muscles. The gene has two variants: X and R. Every person has two copies of the gene, one from each parent.

The X variant is associated with slow energy release and is best suited for endurance sports, the company said, while R supports explosive spurts of energy and is suited for power sports. A child with one X and one R would be suited to either class of sports.

Company officials said the test could help discover the “natural advantage” lying with a child at a young age when he or she cannot be subjected to sports assessment tests. “It will help identify the (class of) sports that children aged between 2 and 13 years have a natural predilection for... and opens new and cost-effective ways of nurturing sporting talent,” said Super Religare Laboratories CEO Sanjeev Chaudhry.

Diagnostic companies in Australia, North America and Europe also offer the test.

Scientists studying the genetics of performance have, however, cautioned that there is no gene test to predict sports excellence and that attitude, training, opportunity and environment too contribute to high performance.

“Most elite endurance athletes have actinin-3 similar to the general population,” said Kathryn North, head of the Institute for Neuroscience and Muscular Research in Sydney, Australia, who had led a study that linked this gene to athletic performance.

“Whether or not you have actinin-3 — and over 75 per cent of the Indian population would have it — contributes to maybe about 2 per cent of the variation in sprinting performance,” North told The Telegraph.

North, who had published her research on actinin-3 in the American Journal of Human Genetics in 2003, said she did not believe it was ethical to screen and nurture top athletes from early in life.

In a blog on the topic, her research co-author, Daniel MacArthur, said parents needed to understand that the test provided information only about one small component of a much bigger picture.

“It’s probably not a great idea to base any important life decisions on such limited information,” MacArthur wrote in his blog. Whether an individual excels in a sport would depend on many factors, including psychological factors.

“If you’re interested in an athletic future for your child, you should nurture their potential regardless of their result on this genetic test,” MacArthur wrote.

“There are still many elite sprinters who are actinin-3 deficient since other factors contribute to how fast or well you run ---- and if you have actinin-3, it is not in any way detrimental to endurance performance,” North said.

North said the actinin-3 gene test would help identify 20 per cent ----- or four million -----people in Australia who were unlikely to win the 100m sprint final at the Olympics. “This is not a helpful discriminator,” she said.

A Religare scientist said the test did not “guarantee anything”.In a study conducted before the launch of the test in India, the scientist said, a person found to be carrying the RR combination of the actinin-3 gene ---- and thus apparently suited for power sports ---- turned out to be a marathon runner.

“There are multiple factors,” the scientist said, “but this gives us a hint of natural talent.”