ABSTRACT
The electrophoretic analysis of hemoglobin resolved some of the questions raised by the hypothesis of the single gene inheritance for both the sickling phenomenon and thalassemia. With the development and widespread use of filter paper electrophoresis in the early 1950’s, knowledge of and work on the abnormal hemoglobins and thalassemia began to boom. Persons with the sickle cell trait, or heterozygotes for the sickle-cell gene, had two different kinds of hemoglobin, one like that of normal individuals and one like the hemoglobin found in persons with sickle-cell anemia. Most of the adult hemoglobin variants can be described by the way in which they differ in amino acid structure from normal adult hemoglobin. Many hemoglobin mutants are discovered through hospital surveys or diagnoses, so that those with deleterious effects are much more likely to be detected.
