The motif constituted by the amino acids binding the heme was extensively studied in 9 globins by Lesk and Chothias in 1980.
Context of the heme in alpha chain of human hemoglobin
Heme binding motif extracted from 4HHBA
For this motif, 14 amino acids are very well conserved in the 9 globins, and there are two exclusive configurations for the 15th one.
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