Haemoglobin polymorphisms affect the oxygen-binding properties in Atlantic cod populations.

ABSTRACT: A major challenge in evolutionary biology is to identify the genes underlying adaptation. The oxygen-transporting haemoglobins directly link external conditions with metabolic needs and therefore represent a unique system for studying environmental effects on molecular evolution. We have discovered two haemoglobin polymorphisms in Atlantic cod populations inhabiting varying temperature and oxygen regimes in the North Atlantic. Three-dimensional modelling of the tetrameric haemoglobin structure demonstrated that the two amino acid replacements Met55beta1Val and Lys62beta1Ala are located at crucial positions of the alpha1beta1 subunit interface and haem pocket, respectively. The replacements are proposed to affect the oxygen-binding properties by modifying the haemoglobin quaternary structur

SUBMITTER: Andersen O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2664378 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature