Erythrocruorin

Erythrocruorin is an oxygen -transporting protein complex of many annelids and arthropods, which is counted to the globins. By assembling several hundred subunits he gets a molar mass of several million Daltons. As a prosthetic group acts chlorocruorin. Erythrocruorin is not packaged into cells but is found both in the blood and in the coelom of the animal. It has a higher O2 affinity than similar proteins of other organisms (eg hemoglobin). Thus, the animals are able to hypoxic conditions, how they form in their habitats ( sediments, intertidal ) frequently to tolerate.

As an example of the erythrocruorin Tauwurms ( Lumbricus terrestris) may be mentioned, which consists of twelve Heterododekameren the globin subunits A, B, C, and D (= 144) and compound 36 proteins constructed.

Further Reading

• Royer WE, beach K, van Heel M, Hendrickson WA: Structural hierarchy in erythrocruorin, the giant respiratory assemblage of annelids. In: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.. 97, No. 13, June 2000, pp. 7107-11. PMID 10860978 PMC: . 16507 (Free full text ).
• Ilan E, Weisselberg E, Daniel E: erythrocruorin from the water - flea Daphnia magna. Quaternary structure and arrangement of subunits. In: Biochem. J.. 207, No. 2, November 1982, pp. 297-303. PMID 7159384 PMC. 1153860 (Free full text ).