Introduction

HemoglobinLab will allow you to study the biochemistry of hemoglobin and the relationship of hemoglobin structure and function to the structure and function of human red blood cells. You can be a biochemist who will use techniques such as gel electrophoresis, peptide sequencing, and computer modeling to study hemoglobin structure. Or you can be a molecular biologist and study the relationship between DNA sequence, polypeptide sequence, and hemoglobin structure.

Objectives & Goals

The purpose of this laboratory is to:

• Study the structure and function of hemoglobin, the oxygen-transporting protein in human red blood cells.
• Examine the effects of mutations in the globin gene on hemoglobin structure and human red blood cell structure.
• Demonstrate biochemical techniques which can be used to study protein structure.
• Investigate the process of translation by studying the effects of DNA sequence change on the peptide produced using computer modeling.

Before You Begin: Prerequisites

Before beginning HemoglobinLab you should be familiar with the following concepts:

• The relationship between protein structure and function; the levels of protein structure.
• The use of TranslationLab to study transcription and translation.
• How point mutations in a gene can affect protein structure; how a single amino acid substitution mutation in the globin gene results in sickle-cell disease.
• The composition of human blood.
• The use of gel electrophoresis to separate macromolecules.