Abstract
THREE haemoglobin phenotypes accounted for by the existence of two alleles have been demonstrated in various breeds of sheep1–4. Animals studied have included those homozygous for haemoglobin A (Hb-A) or haemoglobin B (Hb-B) while others were heterozygous for these two haemoglobins. In 1963, a new haemoglobin type was reported in sheep carrying the Hb-A gene after they had been made anaemic by severe bleeding5. A new type of haemoglobin (designated Hb-C) was later reported in sheep with experimental anaemia6. Haemoglobin C completely replaced Hb-A in the severely anaemic animals. No such variant was detectable in sheep homozygous for Hb-B after severe loss of blood. This Hb-C is probably the same as Hb-N described by Brænd et al.7 in a highly anaemic lamb, and occurring rather commonly in Norwegian breeds of sheep8,9. Studies of the chemical structure of the previously mentioned ovine haemoglobins have shown that they differ in the non-alpha chains (Hb-A = αA2βA2, Hb-B = αA2βB2, Hb-C = αA2βC2) (refs. 6, 10–12).
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VASKOV, B., EFREMOV, G. Fourth Haemoglobin Type in Sheep. Nature 216, 593–594 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/216593a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/216593a0
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