KIBRA Gene Variant Is Associated with Ability in Chess and Science

Abstract

The kidney and brain expressed protein (KIBRA) plays an important role in synaptic plasticity. Carriers of the T allele of the KIBRA (WWC1) gene rs17070145 C/T polymorphism have been reported to have enhanced spatial ability and to outperform individuals with the CC genotype in working memory tasks. Since ability in chess and science is directly related to spatial ability and working memory, we hypothesized that the KIBRA T allele would be positively associated with chess player status and PhD status in science. We tested this hypothesis in a study involving 2479 individuals (194 chess players, 119 PhD degree holders in STEM fields, and 2166 controls; 1417 males and 1062 females) from three ethnicities (236 Kazakhs, 1583 Russians, 660 Tatars). We found that frequencies of the T allele were significantly higher in Kazakh (66.9 vs. 55.1%; p = 0.024), Russian (44.8 vs. 32.0%; p = 0.0027), and Tatar (51.5 vs. 41.8%; p = 0.035) chess players compared with ethnically matched controls (meta-analysis for CT/TT vs. CC: OR = 2.05, p = 0.0001). In addition, none of the international chess grandmasters (ranked among the 80 best chess players in the world) were carriers of the CC genotype (0 vs. 46.3%; OR = 16.4, p = 0.005). Furthermore, Russian and Tatar PhD holders had a significantly higher frequency of CT/TT genotypes compared with controls (meta-analysis: OR = 1.71, p = 0.009). Overall, this is the first study to provide comprehensive evidence that the rs17070145 C/T polymorphism of the KIBRA gene may be associated with ability in chess and science, with the T allele exerting a beneficial effect.

Talent, excellence and practice

“…However, again, the evidence is almost lacking. One pioneering molecular genetic study analyzed the potential role of the KIBRA gene variant for chess and science (Ahmetov et al, 2023). KIBRA is known to play a role in synaptic plasticity and it has been hypothesized that KIBRA T allele should show a positive association with international scores of chess players.…”

Genes and Athletic Performance: The 2023 Update

“…These include flexibility, coordination, cardiorespiratory fitness, spatial ability, stress resilience, mental toughness, fat loss efficiency, and cardiovascular and metabolic responses to training, amongst others [ 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 ]. For example, combat athletes are more likely than untrained subjects to have the warrior ( COMT rs4680 GG) genotype [ 85 ], whilst chess players demonstrate an increased frequency of an allele linked to improved memory and spatial ability ( KIBRA rs17070145 T) [ 86 ]. Such discoveries demonstrate the broadening nature of sports genomics in recent times, with focus expanding from the traditional domain of investigating what makes elite performers different from the general population into other domains, such as sports nutrigenetics [ 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 ] and areas of sports medicine, such as genomic variants associated with soft-tissue injuries and sports-related concussion [ 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 , 107 , 108 , 109 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 ].…”