Hundreds of variants of hemoglobin have been identified by electrophoresis, but relatively few are frequent enough to be called polymorphisms. Of the polymorphisms, the alleles for sickle-cell and thalassemia hemoglobins produce serious disease in homozygotes, whereas others (hemoglobins C, D, and E) do not. The sickle-cell polymorphism confers a selective advantage on the heterozygote living in a malarial environment; the thalassemia polymorphism provides a similar advantage.
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