[Phosphate-hemoglobin interaction: concerning the respiration of adult man, human fetus, the llama and dromedary (author's transl)].

The perinatal control of the oxygen affinity of human blood and the high altitude respiration of the llama is discussed. Furthermore, the sequences of the beta-chains of the hemoglobin of man, llama, dromedary and the gamma-chains of human fetal hemoglobin are reported. Considering physical, physiological, and chemical data it is shown that the human fetal respiration and the high altitude respiration of llama are based on a similar molecular mechanism and are marked by a reduced mutual effect of the non alpha-chains to 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate. The reduced mutual effect is interpreted as a mutation and interruption of the phosphate contacts in gamma 143 Serin at the fetus and beta 2 Asparagin at the llama resulting in an increased oxygen affinity of the corresponding hemoglobins. The respiration of the fetus and that of the llama in the Andes is thereby molecularly interpreted.