CARNIVORA - THE PRIMARY STRUCTURE OF THE MAJOR HEMOGLOBIN COMPONENT FROM ADULT EUROPEAN LYNX (LYNX-LYNX, FELIDAE)

The complete primary structure of the major hemoglobin component from the adult European lynx (Lynx lynx) is presented. Presence of two hemoglobin components and three chains, beta-A, beta-B, and alpha, identified by gel electrophoresis. The purification of the globin chains achieved by ion-exchange chromatography. The globin chains were digested with trypsin. The peptide generated were purified by reversed-phase HPLC. Sequencing of the native chains up to 42 cycles and of the tryptic peptides were deduced by Edman degradation in liquid- and gas-phase sequencer. The primary structure established aligned with those of human Hb-A. The comparison of lynx globin chains with other representatives of the Felidae, lion, tiger, jaguar, leopard, and cat revealed high homology.