The ancient origins and functional versatility of globins make them ideal subjects for studying physiological adaptation to environmental change. Our goals in this review are to describe the evolution of the vertebrate globin gene superfamily and to explore the structure/function relationships of hemoglobin, myoglobin, neuroglobin and cytoglobin in teleost fishes. We focus on the globins of Antarctic notothenioids, emphasizing their adaptive features as inferred from comparisons with human proteins.

We dedicate this review to Guido di Prisco, our co-author, colleague, friend, and husband of C.V. Ever thoughtful, creative, and enthusiastic, Guido spearheaded study of the structure, function, and evolution of the hemoglobins of polar fishes – this review is testimony to his wide-ranging contributions. Throughout his career, Guido inspired younger scientists to embrace polar biological research, and he challenged researchers of all ages to explore evolutionary adaptation in the context of global climate change. Beyond his scientific contributions, we will miss his warmth, his culture, and his great intellect. Guido has left an outstanding legacy, one that will continue to inspire us and our research.

球蛋白的古老起源和功能广泛性使其成为研究生理适应环境变化的理想学科。我们在这篇综述中的目标是描述脊椎动物球蛋白基因超家族的进化，并探讨硬骨鱼中血红蛋白，肌红蛋白，神经球蛋白和细胞蛋白的结构/功能关系。我们将重点放在南极类胡萝卜素的球蛋白上，强调它们与人类蛋白质的比较所推断出的适应性特征。

我们将这份评论献给Guido di Prisco，我们的合著者，同事，朋友和丈夫CV圭多（Guido）经过深思熟虑，富有创造力和热情，对极地鱼类的血红蛋白的结构，功能和进化进行了深入研究–这篇评论证明了他的广泛贡献。在整个职业生涯中，Guido都鼓励年轻的科学家们从事极性生物学研究，并且他向各个年龄段的研究人员发起挑战，要求他们探索全球气候变化背景下的进化适应性。除了他的科学贡献外，我们还将怀念他的热情，他的文化和他的才智。Guido留下了杰出的遗产，它将继续激发我们和我们的研究。