Conclusion -DNA as Genetic Material: Hershey And Chase Experiment

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Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase conducted to confirm DNA as the genetic substance. The Hershey-Chase investigations was crucial then as at that time many scientists believed that proteins contained genetic information rather than DNA. Hershey and Chase discovered that when viruses called bacteriophages infect bacteria, a small amount of their protein enters the bacterial cell. This suggested that DNA, not protein, was responsible for carrying genetic instructions. These findings, coupled with previous and subsequent discoveries, strongly showed that DNA was the genetic material. Later they received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their contributions to genetics.

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DNA as Genetic Material – Hershey And Chase Experiment

The Hershey and Chase Experiment, conducted in 1952 by Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase, demonstrated that DNA contains genetic information. They accomplished this by investigating viruses that infect bacteria, known as bacteriophages. In these tests, scientists labelled the virus’s DNA with a radioactive marker while labelling the protein coat independently with another marker.

When the viruses infected bacteria, researchers discovered that only the DNA identifier, not the protein marker, was passed along to the next generation of viruses. This helped to demonstrate that DNA, not protein, is the molecule that conveys genetic instructions. We will read about the Hershey and Chase Experiment in detail in this article.

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