Characterization of the hemoglobin of the backswimmer Anisops deanei (Hemiptera).

Abstract While O 2 -binding hemoglobin-like proteins are present in many insects, prominent amounts of hemoglobin have only been found in a few species. Backswimmers of the genera Anisops and Buenoa (Notonectidae) have high concentrations of hemoglobin in the large tracheal cells of the abdomen. Oxygen from the hemoglobin is delivered to a gas bubble and controls the buoyant density, which enables the bugs to maintain their position without swimming and to remain stationary in the mid-water zone where they hunt for prey. We have obtained the cDNA sequences of three Anisops deanei hemoglobin chains by RT-PCR and RACE techniques. The deduced amino acid sequences show an unusual insertion of a…