Computational Study on Hemoglobin Protein Family

We have analyzed 19 proteins belonging to hemoglobin protein family: 3 for plants, 4 for invertebrates and the others for vertebrates. For every protein we have determined the following parameters: the fractal dimension of its backbone, the fractal dimension of its surface, the radius of gyration, the area of its molecular surface and the area of the surface of its cavities. At global level, we did not notice significant differences for the fractal parameters for proteins belonging to different organisms and it underlines that all these proteins perform the same biological function. We have obtained different values of the local and global surface fractal dimensions reflecting distinct roughness of protein pockets in comparison to the entire surface, also in good correlation with the biological function. The geometric characteristics are distinct for the three investigated families of proteins.