Developmental genetics of the human haemoglobins

Abstract

The most important unanswered question in haemoglobin genetics is how globin genes are regulated so that they are expressed at different stages of development. In the last few years the fine structure of much of the globin gene complex has been determined in several species and some new insights into the cellular aspects of haemoglobin genetics have been obtained. While it is still not possible to link information from these different sources into a coherent picture, some progress has been made. The present position in this field is summarized.