This volume comprises selected contributions by internationally renowned researchers and represents the state-of-the-art in the field of haemoglobin function in vertebrates living in extreme and temperate environments.

The annual Congress of the Italian Biochemical and Molecular Biology Society (SIB) was held in September 1999 in Alghero, Sardegna, Italy. The programme envisaged a symposium on molecular adaptations of haemoglobin function in ver- tebrates. Haemoglobin specialists from several countries were invited to speak at the symposium and paved the way for wide-ranging and stimulating discussions. The symposium contributions have been collected together in this volume. The structure/function relationship in haemoglobins from vertebrates (fishes populat- ing temperate and polar environments, diving...