Evolution of Hemoglobin in Primates

Abstract

Several proposals have been made to describe the evolutionary relationships among the genes that control the structure of the polypeptide chains in the normal human hemoglobins.1-3 At present, the best means for evaluating these proposals is by analysis of the sequence of amino acids in the polypeptide chains of hemoglobins from several vertebrate and invertebrate forms. With this information, homologies of chain structure as shown by correspondence between sequences of amino acids in entire chains, or portions of chains, help to establish the order or trend of evolution of the hemoglobin genes. Because a vast number of animals are available for this purpose, it is important that a careful choice of subjects for study be made. The principal basis for such choice should be the comparative anatomy and paleontological record of the animal groups. Thus, one will study hemoglobins from those animals that, in contemporary theory, represent stages in the development from primitive to more advanced forms, and finally to man. For this reason we have chosen to study the hemoglobins from a single mammalian order, the Primates. This order contains not only man, of whose hemoglobins so

Sequences of Pituitary and Placental Lactogenic and Growth Hormones: Evolution from a Primordial Peptide by Gene Reduplication

“…Precedents exist for this line of reasoning, since there is now considerable evidence that gene reduplication was a common means of genetic diversification during evolution in the vertebrate line (21). The analogy between the present findings and those described earlier for immunoglobulin (22), hemoglobin (23), and haptoglobin (24) evolution is obvious.…”

Immunology and Rates of Enzyme Evolution in the Amphibia in Relation to the Origins of Certain Taxa

“…Perhaps the ideal method is the determination of the amino acid sequences of homologous proteins, as has been begun in cytochrome c (Margoliash, 1963;Smith and Margoliash, 1964) and in hemoglobin (Braunitzer et al, 1964;Hill et al, 1963;Hill and Buettner-Janusch, 1964), but this involves a very great deal of time and work and might fairly be characterized as cumbersome, and therefore not a choice method for extensive comparisons and surveys. The existence of such techniques has in turn interested evolutionary biologists in their possible applications.…”

The Evolution of the Vertebrate Neurohypophysial Hormones in Relation to the Genetic Code

“…Thus the evolution of the neurohypophysial hormones may have taken place along the same lines as the evolution of proteins [e.g. haemoglobins (Ingram, 1962;Hill, Buettner-Janush & Buettner-Janush, 1963)]. The identity of the precursor of arginine vasopressin is not exactly known but Sachs & Takabatake (1964) suggested that it is a protein, from which the hormone is split off.…”