Equilibria and kinetic of oxygen and carbon monoxide binding to the haemoglobin of the South American lungfish, Lepidosiren paradoxa

1. 1. The haemoglobin of the South American lungfish Lepidosiren paradoxa has a single component. 2. 2. The equilibria of this respiratory protein with oxygen have been investigated both in the blood and with the purified haemoglobin. There is a substantial, normal, alkaline Bohr effect and marked sensitivity to organic phosphates in the haemoglobin solutions. 3. 3. Studies on the pH dependence of the kinetics of oxygen dissociation can be interpreted in terms of a normal Bohr effect. 4. 4. The kinetics of combination of carbon monoxide have an unusual pH dependence. 5. 5. These findings are discussed in terms of the two-state model of Monod et al. (1965).