Question

In the 1950s, the scientists Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase carried out an experiment using bacteriophages, which are viruses that infect bacteria. During the experiment, the scientists allowed bacteriophages that had been labeled with either radioactive phosphorus or radioactive sulfur to infect bacterial cells. After the infection process occurred, the scientists determined the locations of the radioactive elements.

After carrying out their experiment, the scientists concluded that bacteriophages inject DNA (a type of nucleic acid), but not protein, into host bacterial cells during infection.
Based on the scientists' conclusion, which of the following describes the most likely result of the experiment?

Answer 1

Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase concluded that bacteriophages inject DNA into host bacterial cells during infection, but not protein.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the experiment conducted by Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase, they used bacteriophages labeled with radioactive phosphorus or sulfur to infect bacterial cells. After the infection process, they determined the locations of the radioactive elements, and found that only the phages labeled with radioactive phosphorus entered the bacterial cells and not the ones labeled with radioactive sulfur. Based on this, they concluded that bacteriophages inject DNA into host bacterial cells during infection, but not protein.