Properties of a hemoglobin from the chromatrope of the nematode Mermis nigrescens.

Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta
A H BurrG Bollerup

Abstract

The chromatrope pigment of Mermis nigrescens (Phylum: Aschelminthes, Class: Nematoda) was previously thought to have a role in photoreception. In this work it is shown to be an oxyhemoglobin whose absorption spectrum in vivo and in extracts resembles that of Ascaris oxyhemoglobins in having a weak alpha-band absorptivity. The extracted hemoglobin binds O2 and CO reversibly and with an affinity higher than that of the same concentration of horse hemoglobin. The Soret band of the deoxy derivative is unusually low and broad. Absorptivities and lambdamax for absorption bands of the oxy, deoxy and CO derivatives are tabulated for comparison with other hemoglobins. Microchemical procedures were developed which revealed that the chromatrope contains an average of 5-10(-12) mol of non-dialysable protoheme. Thus the hemoglobin concentration in the approx. 0.5 nl chromatrope volume is on the order of 10 mM (heme). The O2 binding ability and high in vivo concentration of this hemoglobin make possible a role in O2 storage or facilitation of O2 diffusion.

References

Mar 7, 1973·Journal of the American Chemical Society·T R CollinsE J Wells
Aug 1, 1965·The Biochemical Journal·B A WittenbergJ B Wittenberg
Nov 29, 1965·Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta·J B WittenbergB A Wittenberg
Dec 16, 1965·Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta·B A WittenbergJ B Wittenberg
Jun 27, 1967·Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta·T OkazakiJ B Wittenberg
Jun 23, 1949·Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Containing Papers of a Biological Character·H E DAVENPORT

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Feb 15, 2000·The Journal of Biological Chemistry·A H BurrL Moens
Mar 29, 2001·Physiological Reviews·R E Weber, S N Vinogradov
Oct 1, 1993·Parasitology Today·M L Blaxter

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Ascariasis (ASM)

Ascariasis is a helminthic infection of global distribution with more than 1.4 billion persons infected throughout the world. Here is the latest research.

Ascariasis

Ascariasis is a helminthic infection of global distribution with more than 1.4 billion persons infected throughout the world. Here is the latest research.