Chapter 10, Problem 26P

Certain individuals with mild forms of β-thalassemia produce, in addition to normal adult hemoglobin with two α chains and two β chains, lower levels of an unusual, so-called Lepore hemoglobin with two α chains and two chains in each of which the N-terminal half comes from a normal δ chain and the C-terminal half comes from a normal β chain. Certain other individuals who are asymptomatic produce a different, unusual anti-Lepore hemoglobin that contains two α chains and two chains in which the N-terminal half comes from a normal β chain and the C-terminal half comes from a normal δ chain.

a.	Describe an event that could give rise to both Lepore and anti-Lepore hemoglobins
b.	Are the mildly thalassemic individuals with Lepore hemoglobin homozygotes or heterozygotes for the unusual allele?
c.	Why might these mildly thalassemic people produce less Lepore hemoglobin than normal adulthemoglobin?