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Studies of oxygen transport in pregnant mammals show that the O saturation curves of fetal and maternal blood are markedly different when measured under the same conditions Fetal erythrocytes contain a structural variant of hemoglobin HbF consisting of two a and two y subunits 272 whereas maternal erythrocytes contain HbA Y 1 0 0 5 HbF BPG 2 HbA BPG 4 po kPa 6 8 10 Macmillan Learning EPG 10 4 What is the effect of BPG on the O affinity of hemoglobin BPG has no effect on O affinity BPG increases O affinity O BPG decreases O affinity How can the O saturation curves of HbA and HbF in the presence and absence of BPG be used to explain the different O affinities of fetal and maternal hemoglobin The O saturation curve of HbA undergoes a larger shift on BPG binding than that of HbF suggesting that HbA binds BPG more tightly than does HbF The presence of BPG ensures that HbA always has a stronger affinity for O than HbF The O saturation curve of HbF undergoes a larger shift on BPG binding than that of HbA suggesting that HbF binds BPG more tightly than does HbA The presence or absence of BPG does not explain the different O affinities of HbF and HbA Feedback You have not correctly identified the O saturation curves of HbA HbF in the presence and absence BPG can be used to explain the different O affinities of fetal and maternal hemoglobin The O saturation curve of HbF does undergo a larger shift on BPG bin than that of HbA Macmillan Learning The graph shows that the presence BPG lowers the O affinity of HbA more than it does for HbF

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