What was the finding of Hershey and Chase?
Hershey and Chase were able to separate the phages into radioactive sulfur-containing protein ghosts and radioactive phosphorus-containing DNA. They found that the radioactive sulfur protein ghosts could attach to bacterial membranes while the radioactive phosphorus DNA could not.
What did the Hershey Chase experiment discover?
In their experiments, Hershey and Chase showed that when bacteriophages, which are composed of DNA and protein, infect bacteria, their DNA enters the host bacterial cell, but most of their protein does not. Hershey and Chase and subsequent discoveries all served to prove that DNA is the hereditary material.
What experiment did Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase do?
Alfred Hershey was a phage geneticist who, with his research assistant, Martha Chase, did one of the most famous experiments in molecular biology. The “blender” experiment proved that DNA carried genetic information.
How did Hershey and Chase concluded that DNA is the genetic material?
Based on this and similar experiments, Hershey and Chase concluded that DNA, not protein, was injected into host cells and made up the genetic material of the phage.
What is the main function of DNA replication?
DNA replication is the process by which a double-stranded DNA molecule is copied to produce two identical DNA molecules. Replication is an essential process because, whenever a cell divides, the two new daughter cells must contain the same genetic information, or DNA, as the parent cell.
How did Hershey and Chase use radioactivity to draw a conclusion?
Hershey and Chase studied bacteriophages which are viruses that attack bacteria. They labeled the bacteriophage with radioactive isotopes to see where it goes when a virus attacks. They discovered that nearly all the radioactivity was found in phosphorus, confirming that DNA contains genetic material, not protein.
Why did Hershey and Chase use s35 and p32?
Why were phosphorus-32 and sulfur-35 perfect for what Hershey & Chase were investigating in their experiments? They were perfect because proteins contain almost no phosphorus and DNA contains no sulfur, so the radioactive isotopes would show up in the cells if the phosphorus-32 or sulfur-35 appeared.
What did Hershey-chase with 32P?
Hershey and Chase used T2 phage, a bacteriophage. The phage infects a bacterium by attaching to it and injecting its genetic material into it. They labeled the phage DNA with radioactive Phosphorus-32.
Why did Hershey and Chase not tag the nitrogen component of DNA?
They decided to label the nitrogen of the DNA, rather than the phosphate. Thus, labeling the nitrogens would provide a stronger signal than labeling the phosphates.