Abstract
The globins are an ancient family of proteins, appearing in archaea, bacteria, and eukarya. The early determination of the crystal structures of globins, and their amino acid sequences, made possible pioneering investigations of protein evolution-at the level of sequence and of structure, the mechanism of allosteric changes, and the implication of mutations in disease. Many homologs from a wide range of species are now known, with a wide range of functions. This chapter surveys what has been learnt about this family, and what topics continue to be active in current research. It describes the basic globin structure and its variations; the taxonomic distribution of different types of globins; and the variety of known functions, focusing on the mechanism of the allosteric change in mammalian tetrameric hemoglobins and on the effects of mutations with clinical consequences.
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | Protein Families |
Subtitle of host publication | Relating Protein Sequence, Structure, and Function |
Publisher | wiley |
Pages | 207-235 |
Number of pages | 29 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781118743089 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780470624227 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 22 2013 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- General Computer Science