PROSITE documentation PDOC00793Globin family profile
Description
Globins are heme-containing proteins involved in binding and/or transporting oxygen [1]. They belong to a very large and well studied family which is widely distributed in many organisms. The major groups of globins are:
- Hemoglobins (Hb) from vertebrates. Hb is the protein responsible for transporting oxygen from the lungs to other tissues. It is a tetramer of two α and two β chains. Most vertebrate species also express specific embryonic or fetal forms of hemoglobin where the α or the β chains are replaced by a chain with higher oxygen affinity, as for the γ, delta, epsilon and zeta chains in mammals, for example.
- Myoglobins (Mg) from vertebrates. Mg is a monomeric protein responsible for oxygen storage in muscles.
- Invertebrate globins [2]. A wide variety of globins are found in invertebrates. Molluscs generally have one or two muscle globins which are either monomeric or dimeric. Insects, such as the midge Chironomus thummi, have a large set of extracellular globins. Nematodes and annelids have a variety of intracellular and extracellular globins; some of them are multi- domain polypeptides (from two up to nine-domain globins) and some produce large, disulfide-bonded aggregates.
- Leghemoglobins (Lg) from the root nodules of leguminous plants. Lg provides oxygen for bacteroids.
- Flavohemoproteins from bacteria (Escherichia coli hmpA) and fungi. These proteins consist of two distinct domains: an N-terminal globin domain and a C-terminal FAD-containing reductase domain. In bacteria such as Vitreoscilla, the enzyme-associated globin is a single domain protein.
All these globins seem to have evolved from a common ancestor. The profile developed to detect members of the globin family is based on a structural alignment of selected globin sequences.
Note:Protozoan/cyanobacterial globins belong to another family which is described in <PDOC00933>.
Last update:December 2001 / Profile revised.
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References
1 | Source | Concise Encyclopedia Biochemistry, Second Edition, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin New-York (1988). |
2 | Authors | Goodman M. Pedwaydon J. Czelusniak J. Suzuki T. Gotoh T. Moens L. Shishikura F. Walz D. Vinogradov S. |
Title | An evolutionary tree for invertebrate globin sequences. | |
Source | J. Mol. Evol. 27:236-249(1988). | |
PubMed ID | 3138426 |
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