The globin multigene family and its developmental regulation

Haemoglobins are amongst the most extensively studied proteins. Their importance as oxygen carriers in birds living in different environmental conditions has already been discussed (Section 6.3) in this 

There are two main branches in the globin gene family, a and p. The a family includes a, n and It, the / -family and p. In all vertebrate a- 

The a-globin gene cluster also has a number of promoter and enhancer sites flanking the genes. 

The picture emerging is that of a sophisticated set of control mechanisms that regulate tissue-specific expression and developmental expression through a number of cis-acting control elements adjacent to the structural genes a number of proteins then bind specifically to these control elements. 

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