| Abstract: | 1. Carbonic anhydrase activity and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) concentration were determined in whole blood from humans (Homo sapiens), rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus), pademelons (Thylogale billardierii) and brush-tailed possums (Trichosurus vulpecula). 2. Marsupial blood carbonic anhydrase activity increased as species body size decreased. 3. T. billardierii haemoglobin was found to have a polymorphism which may be the same (beta 2 = histidine or glutamine) as that of M. giganteus. 4. The concentration of 2,3-DPG int e red cells of T. billardierii was approximately equal to that of the haemoglobin tetramer. Levels of 2,3-DPG in the other species were similar to those previously reported. |
