Predictable convergence in hemoglobin function has unpredictable molecular underpinnings.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Natarajan C
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5464326 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Predictable convergence in hemoglobin function has unpredictable molecular underpinnings.
Natarajan Chandrasekhar C Hoffmann Federico G FG Weber Roy E RE Fago Angela A Witt Christopher C CC Storz Jay F JF
Science (New York, N.Y.) 20161001 6310
To investigate the predictability of genetic adaptation, we examined the molecular basis of convergence in hemoglobin function in comparisons involving 56 avian taxa that have contrasting altitudinal range limits. Convergent increases in hemoglobin-oxygen affinity were pervasive among high-altitude taxa, but few such changes were attributable to parallel amino acid substitutions at key residues. Thus, predictable changes in biochemical phenotype do not have a predictable molecular basis. Experim ...[more]
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