Hemoglobin transition in early developmental stages of the tadpole, Rana catesbeiana

Abstract Five hemoglobin components (a, I, II, III and IV) were isolated from the hemolysates of file tadpole, Rana catesbeiana . Component a was a monomeric molecule and the other four were tetrameric molecules. Component I predominating in younger tadpoles was replaced by component II during tadpole development. Electrophoretic and chemical analyses on the constituent globin chains revealed that component a was very similar to the α-chains of components I and II, and that components I and II differed from one another in their β chains.