11 Association between Dermatoglyphic Configuration and the ACTN3 Genotype in Juvenile Male Athletes Ramon Cunha-Montenegro 1,2 , Carlos Renato Paz 3 , Eric de Lucena Barbosa 2 , Asdrúbal Nóbrega Montenegro-Neto 2 , Michelle Salles de Oliveira 2 , Vanduir Soares de Araújo Filho 2 , Fernando Policarpo Barbosa 4 , Paula Roquetti Fernandes 4 and José Fernandes Filho 5 1 Autonomous University of Asunción - UAA/PY; 2 Physical Evaluation Laboratory – UNIPÊ-SANNY; 3 Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Paraíba – IFPB. 4 Center of Excellence in Physical Evaluation – CEAF/RJ/BR; 5 Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ-EEFD/RJ/BR Abstract This study examined whether dermatoglyphic characteristics are associated with the α-actinin isoform 3 (ACTN3) R577X sequence variant, employing descriptive and comparative approaches. Boys (N=82) were classified according to the dermatoglyphic configuration of their digital impressions into the following groups: Anaerobic Power (AP=8); Speed Resistance (SR=44); Pure Force (PF=5), and Aerobic Resistance (AR=25). All of the AP group subjects (9.76% of the subjects) had a genetic predisposition for anaerobic power performance, with 37.5% being RR homozygotes and 62.5% being RX heterozygotes. The dermatoglyphic profiles, correlated with the ALW fingerprint formulas, classified the SR group (53.66% of the subjects) as having speed resistance. The PF group (6.09% of the subjects) notably all had AL fingerprints and an absence of W. Finally, the AR group (30.49% of the subjects) had a predisposition for aerobic capacity. In conclusion, dermatoglyphic features can be associated with the R577X allelic variant of the ACTN3 gene, as much through anaerobic muscle power profiling as through the ACTN3 genotype. Key words: alpha-actinin; fingerprint; genetic polymorphism. Croatian Journal of Education Vol:15; Sp.Ed.No.4/2013, pages: 11-29 Original research paper Paper submitted: 23 rd August 2012 Paper accepted: 24 th September 2012