The review is devoted to the patterns of evolution of α- and β-globin gene domains. A hypothesis is presented according to which segregation of the ancestral cluster of α/β-globin genes in Amniota occurred due to the performance by α-globins and β-globins of non-canonical functions not related to oxygen transport.
Keywords: evolution of α- and β-globin genes; non-canonical functions of α- and β-globins; regulation of transcription.