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Biochemical Characterization of Hemoglobins from Caspian Sea Sturgeons (Acipenser persicus and Acipenser stellatus)

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Abstract

Hemoglobin (Hb) variability is a commonly used index of phylogenetic differentiation and molecular adaptation in fish enabling them to adapt to different ecological conditions. In this study, the characteristics of Hbs from two Sturgeon species of the Southern Caspian Sea Basin were investigated. After extraction and separation of hemoglobin from whole blood, the polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), cellulose acetate electrophoresis, and isoelectric focusing (IEF) were used to confirm Hb variabilities in these fishes. We showed that although both species have variable Hbs with different isoelectric points, their dominant Hbs can be identified. Ion exchange on CM-cellulose chromatography was used for purification of the dominant Hbs from these fishes. The accuracy of the methods was confirmed by IEF and SDS-PAGE. Spectral studies using fluorescence spectrophotometery indicated that although the Hbs from these fishes had similar properties they exhibited clear differences with human Hb. A comparative study of Hbs alpha-helix secondary substructures was performed by circular dichroism spectropolarimetry (CD) analysis. UV–vis spectrophotometery was also utilized to measure oxygen affinity of Hbs by sodium dithionite. Oxygen affinities of these Hbs were compared using Hb–oxygen dissociation curves. Together, these results demonstrate a significant relationship between oxygen affinity of fish hemoglobins and environmental partial pressure of oxygen.

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Acknowledgments

The financial supports of the Research Council of the University of Tehran, Iran National Science Foundation (INSF) and IAU are acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Science and Technology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University (IAU), Tehran, Iran

    Shohreh Ariaeenejad, Shahla Jamili & Mohammad Reza Fatemi

  2. School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Mehran Habibi-Rezaei

  3. Iranian Fisheries Research Organization (IFRO), Tehran, Iran

    Shahla Jamili

  4. Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Najmeh Poursasan & Ali A. Moosavi-Movahedi

  5. Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India, 110025

    Faizan Ahmad

  6. Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and Pharmacology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53792, USA

    Nader Sheibani

  7. Control and Intelligent Processing Center of Excellence, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Kaveh Kavousi

  8. Center of Excellence in Biothermodynamics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Ali A. Moosavi-Movahedi

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  1. Shohreh Ariaeenejad
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  2. Mehran Habibi-Rezaei
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Correspondence to Ali A. Moosavi-Movahedi.

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Ariaeenejad, S., Habibi-Rezaei, M., Jamili, S. et al. Biochemical Characterization of Hemoglobins from Caspian Sea Sturgeons (Acipenser persicus and Acipenser stellatus). Cell Biochem Biophys 62, 73–81 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12013-011-9261-x

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