1.2.1.1 Evidence that genes are made of DNA (or sometimes RNA)

1.2.1.1 Evidence that genes are made of DNA (or sometimes RNA)

Transformation in Bacteria

Frederick Griffith laid the foundation for the identification of DNA as the genetic material in 1928 with his experiments on transformation in the bacterium Pnuemococcus, now known as Streptococcus pneumoniae.

DNA: The transforming material

Oswald Avery, Colin Mac Leod, and Maclyn Mc Carty showed the transforming substance to be DNA in 1944 in virulent cells of Streptococcus pneumoniae.

  • In 1952, A.D. Hershey and Martha Chase performed experiment in T2 bacteriophage. The phage is composed of protein and DNA only. The experiment showed that the genes of phage are made of DNA.
Last modified: Tuesday, 22 November 2011, 6:06 AM