Question

in hershey and chase's experiment, phage protein was radiolabeled with sulfur and phage DNA was radiolabeled with phosphorous. If their hypothesis was that DNA was the genetic material, in what sample would they expect to find radioactive phosphorous?

Answer 1

In the Hershey and Chase experiment, they would expect to find radioactive phosphorus inside the bacterial cells infected with phages if DNA was the genetic material. Their results supported this hypothesis, confirming DNA as the genetic material.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the Hershey and Chase experiment, radioactive phosphorus (¹²P) was used to label phage DNA because phosphorus is a component found in DNA, but not in proteins. Conversely, radioactive sulfur (³⁵S) was used to label phage proteins because certain amino acids contain sulfur.

If their hypothesis was that DNA was the genetic material, Hershey and Chase would expect to find radioactive phosphorus only inside the bacterial cells that were infected with the phages. Their experimental results indeed showed that after allowing phages to infect E. coli cells and subsequently removing the viral protein coats, the radioactive phosphorus was found within the cells, indicating that the DNA, not the protein, had entered the cells and hence was the genetic material.