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Hemoglobins with different electrophoretic mobilities are associated with bizarre shapes seen during ordinary light microscopy of erythrocytes from the white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus; nonsickling is contingent upon a specific hemoglobin. Sickling in vitro, which isproduced to a maximum degree in the presence of oxygen and elevated pH, is not associated with hematological abnormalities or disease despite marked differences in physical characteristics of sickled and nonsickled cells.

The blood of the newborn horse was found to have a higher affinity for oxygen than that of the mother. This difference was due to the fact that the red cells of newborn foals contained 36% lower 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) than red cells from their respective mares. The ATP levels of foal and maternal red cells did not differ significantly. Following birth a prompt rise in the foal's red cell 2,3-DPG occurred, approaching normal (maternal) levels within 5 days. Unlike many other species, the hemoglobins of the newborn and adult horse have been shown to be structurally identical. Furthermore, phosphate-free solutions of newborn and maternal hemoglobins had identical oxygen saturation curves in the absence and presence of added 2,3-DPG. This study demonstrates that, in contrast to other species. the increased oxygen affinity of horse fetal red cells is due to a lower level of the cofactor 2,3-DPG rather than to the presence of fetal hemoglobin.