Hemoglobin Function in Vertebrates: Molecular Adaptation in Extreme and Temperate Environments

The annual Congress of the Italian Biochemical and Molecular Biology Society (SIB) was held in September 1999 in Alghero, Sardegna, Italy. The programme envisaged a symposium on molecular adaptations of haemoglobin function in ver- tebrates. Haemoglobin specialists from several countries were invited to speak at the symposium and paved the way for wide-ranging and stimulating discussions. The symposium contributions have been collected together in this volume. The structure/function relationship in haemoglobins from vertebrates (fishes populat- ing temperate and polar environments, diving birds, marine and terrestrial mam- mals) has been tackled from many angles, focusing on the adaptation of the oxy- gen-transport system to the constraints dictated by the environment. Eleven arti- cles review some of the most recent developments of the studies on this ancient oxygen-transport protein, characterized by high conservation during evolution. The volume offers the reader an updated, state-of-the-art summary of a field that is enjoying a true renaissance. Covering the topic from several viewpoints, the volume includes protein chemistry (amino acid sequence, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structures, thermodynamics of oxygen-binding features), molecular biology (globin gene structure, sequence, organization, expression and regulation) and evolution. In this representation of effective multidisciplinary and multina- tional collaborative efforts, reference is available to a wide range of disciplines and biological systems. The tools of the investigators comprise advanced and powerful methodologies developed in recent years, e. g.