Based upon existing crystallographic evidence, HbS, HbC, and HbA have essentially the same molecular structure. However, important areas of the molecule are not well defined crystallographically (e.g. the N-terminal nonhelical portion of the ␣ and  chains), and conformational constraints differ in solution and in the crystalline state. Over the years, our laboratory and others have provided evidence of conformational changes in HbS and, more recently, in HbC.We now present data based upon allosteric perturbation monitored by front-face fluorescence, ultraviolet resonance Raman spectroscopy, circular dichroism, and oxygen equilibrium studies that confirm and significantly expand previous findings suggesting solution-active structural differences in liganded forms of HbS and HbC distal to the site of mutation and involving the 2,3-diphosphoglycerate binding pocket. The liganded forms of these hemoglobins are of significant interest because HbC crystallizes in the erythrocyte in the oxy form, and oxy HbS exhibits increased mechanical precipitability and a high propensity to oxidize. Specific findings are as follows: 1) differences in the intrinsic fluorescence indicate that the Trp microenvironments are more hydrophobic for HbS > HbC > HbA, 2) ultraviolet resonance Raman spectroscopy detects alterations in Tyr hydrogen bonding, in Trp hydrophobicity at the ␣ 1  2 interface (37), and in the A-helix (␣14/15) of both chains, 3) displacement by inositol hexaphosphate of the Hb-bound 8-hydroxy-1,3,6-pyrenetrisulfonate (the fluorescent 2,3-diphosphoglycerate analog) follows the order HbA > HbS > HbC, and 4) oxygen equilibria measurements indicate a differential allosteric effect by inositol hexaphosphate for HbC ϳ HbS > HbA.Naturally occurring 6 hemoglobin mutants aggregate into defined structures in the erythrocyte. Sickle cell hemoglobin (HbS, 6 Glu 3 Val) forms polymers in the deoxy state, whereas HbC (6 Glu 3 Lys) forms crystals in the oxy liganded state. A complete understanding of the mechanisms giving rise to deoxy HbS polymers and oxy HbC crystals remains to be elucidated. In the last few years, our laboratory has pursued questions related to mechanisms involved in the ligand-specific, induced crystallization of HbC, starting with site-specific probing of the R-state tetrameric structure of HbC (1, 2). Here, we extend the studies to include a comparison of the R-state of HbS. The R-state of HbS is of particular relevance because oxy HbS exhibits unusual properties compared with HbA, such as mechanical precipitability (3-5), greater unfolding at an airwater interface (6, 7), and increased autooxidation (8 -10).According to existing crystallographic evidence, HbS, HbC, and HbA have essentially the same molecular structure. However, this ignores the following: 1) important areas of the molecule are not well defined crystallographically (e.g. the N-terminal nonhelical portion of the ␣ and  chains), and 2) crystals might constrain conformation compared with that in solution.Spectroscopic and biochemical findin...