Home
Class 12
BIOLOGY
How did Hershey and Chase differentiate ...

How did Hershey and Chase differentiate between DNA and protein in their experiment while proving that DNA is the genetic material?

Text Solution

Verified by Experts

Hershey and Chase worked with bacteriophage and E.coli to prove that DNA is the genetic material. They used different radioactive isotopes to label DNA and protein coat of the bacteriophage.
They grew some bacteriophages on a medium containing radioactive phosphorus (`""(32)^P`) to identify DNA and some on a medium containing radioactive sulphur (`""(35)^S`) to identify protein. Then, these radioactive labelled phages were allowed to infect E.coli bacteria. After infecting, the protein coat of the bacteriophage was separated from the bacterial cell by blending and then subjected to the process of centrifugation. Since the protein coat was lighter, it was found in the supernatant while the infected bacteria got settled at the bottom of the centrifuge tube. Hence, it was proved that DNA is the genetic material as it was transferred from virus to bacteria.
ltimg src="https://d10lpgp6xz60nq.cloudfront.net/physics_images/NCERT_BIO_XII_C06_E01_007_S01.png" width="80%"gt
Promotional Banner

Topper's Solved these Questions

  • MICROBES IN HUMAN WELFARE

    NCERT BANGLISH|Exercise QUESTIONS|15 Videos
  • ORGANISMS AND POPULATIONS

    NCERT BANGLISH|Exercise QUESTIONS|18 Videos

Similar Questions

Explore conceptually related problems

In which year it was porve that DNA in the genetic material

Blender experiment to prove DNA as genetic material was performed by

How did Hershey and Chase proved that DNA is the hereditary material? Explain their experiment with suitable diagram.

DNA is geneticmaterial was proved by

Harshey and Chase did experiments on transduction.

Describe the experiments on Bacterial Transformation by Griffith to prove that DNA is the genetic material.

HIV has a protein coat and a genetic material which is

Single stranded DNA occurs as a genetic material in virus

Protein does not constitute genetic material because it

How can it be stated that DNA is the molecular life ?