Question

In Hershey and Chase experiments, radioactive $^{32}P$ was used to culture bacteriophages which resulted in radioactive:

• A. Viral $DNA$
• B. Bacterial capsule
• C. Viral proteins
• D. Plasma membrane of bacteria

Answer 1

Answer: (A)

Viral $DNA$

Answer 2

The unequivocal proof that DNA is the genetic material came from the experiments of Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase (1952). They worked with viruses that infect bacteria called bacteriophages. They grew some viruses
on a medium that contained radioactive phosphorus ($^{32}P$) and some others on medium that contained radioactive sulfur ($^{35}S$). Viruses grown in the presence of radioactive phosphorus contained radioactive DNA but not radioactive protein because DNA contains phosphorus but protein does not. Similarly, viruses grown on radioactive sulfur contained radioactive protein but not radioactive DNA because DNA does not contain sulfur.