Hershey and Chase experiment!!!!! 10 pts!!!!!?

Question

I need to analyze the Hershey -Chase experiment.

what was:

1. the question

2. hypothesis

3. experimental subjects

4. groups

5. variables.

6 results

how did the results support the researchers conclusion?

what was the significance of the experiment?

plz plz i promise 10 pts

Answer 1

1. the question  - Is protein the genetic material in viruses?

2. hypothesis - It is DNA

3. experimental subjects - T4 phage bacteria

4. groups -?

5. variables - ?

6 results -  DNA seen as the genetic material

Significance - people had thought that protein not DNA was the genetic material in viruses.

The Hershey-Chase experiment was a series of experiments, conducted in 1952 by Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase. It identified DNA to be the genetic material of phages and, ultimately, of all organisms. Before this experiment was conducted, it was suspected that proteins were the genetic material in viruses, not DNA. A bacteriophage is a small virus that infects bacteria. It consists of a protein coat that encloses the genetic material. When a phage infects a bacterium, it inserts its genetic material into the bacterium, while its coat remains outside.

http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/olcweb/c...  -  has a super animated explanation.

They infected bacteria with T2 phages that had been radioactively labeled either in their DNA component (with 32P) or in their protein component (with 32S).The infected bacteria were agitated in a blender, and two fractions were separated by centrifugation. One contained the empty phage coats that were released from the surface of the bacteria; these consist of protein and therefore carried the 32S radioactive label. The other fraction consisted of the infected bacteria themselves. Most of the 32P label was present in the infected bacteria. The progeny phage particles produced by the infection contained 30% of the original 32P label. The progeny received very little less than 1% of the protein contained in the original phage population.



This experiment therefore showed directly that the DNA of parent phages enters the bacteria and than becomes part of the progeny phages, exactly the pattern of inheritance expected of genetic material.