<b>Association between </b><b><i>ACE</i></b><b> (I/D) polymorphism and playing position in Brazilian junior handball players</b>

Handball is team sport a characterized by fast-paced, dynamic play, involving a combination of physical strength, agility, and tactical skills. Sports performance can be influenced by various factors that can have effects on athletes and the influence of genetic polymorphisms on athletic performance has been widely explored. This study investigated the interactions between the polymorphisms ACE (I/D) and their association with endurance and strength phenotypes in Brazilian handball junior players considering their playing position. 90 junior handball players and 72 age-matched controls were evaluated. DNA was extracted using a QIAamp DNA Blood Mini kit and ACE I/D polymorphism was genotyped by conventional PCR followed by electrophorese in agarose gel. All participants were anthropometrically evaluated and performed the standing long jump (SLJ) and medicine ball throw (MBT) tests. Handball players presented superior performance in the SLJ and MBT tests compared to the control group in all playing positions (p &lt; 0.01). No significant differences observed in ACE genotype or allele frequencies when comparing handball athletes and controls or among playing positions. However, a significant difference was observed when comparing all athletes to controls using the over-dominant model (p = 0.035). Additionally, athletes with II + ID and II + DD genotypes exhibited superior performance in the standing long jump test (p = 0.04) and ID athletes demonstrated increased height compared to II + DD counterparts (p = 0.04). In conclusion, our data showed a potential association between ACE (I/D) polymorphism and the overall athletic predisposition in handball players, with no association with playing position.