In microbial genetics which one is reffered to as ''Griffith effect''?

Options

A. DNA Transcription
B. RNA translation
C. Bacterial transformation
D. Bacterial transduction

Answer

**Step-by-Step Solution:**

1. **Understanding the Griffith Experiment**: The Griffith experiment is a foundational study in microbial genetics that demonstrated the phenomenon of transformation. It involved two strains of the bacterium *Streptococcus pneumoniae*: the virulent smooth strain (S strain) and the non-virulent rough strain (R strain).

2. **Conducting the Experiment**:
- In the first part, Griffith injected a mouse with the rough strain (R), and the mouse survived.
- In the second part, he injected a mouse with the smooth strain (S), and the mouse died.
- In the third part, he injected a mouse with heat-killed smooth strain (heat-killed S), and the mouse survived, indicating that the heat killed the virulence of the bacteria.

3. **Key Observation**: In the fourth part of the experiment, Griffith injected a mouse with a combination of the rough strain (R) and the heat-killed smooth strain (heat-killed S). Surprisingly, the mouse died.

4. **Conclusion**: The death of the mouse in the fourth part indicated that the rough strain had somehow acquired the virulence from the heat-killed smooth strain. This process of genetic material being transferred from one bacterium to another is known as "bacterial transformation."

5. **Identifying the Griffith Effect**: The phenomenon observed in Griffith's experiment, where non-virulent bacteria become virulent through the uptake of genetic material from dead bacteria, is referred to as the "Griffith effect." Therefore, in microbial genetics, the Griffith effect is synonymous with bacterial transformation.

**Final Answer**: The Griffith effect is referred to as **bacterial transformation**.

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