Question

Frederick Griffith infected mice with a combination of dead R and live S bacterial strains. What was the outcome, and why did it occur?

a) Mice survived; the transformation of hereditary material occurred
b) Mice died; the transformation of hereditary material occurred
c) Mice survived; no transformation occurred
d) Mice died; no transformation occurred

Answer 1

The mice died due to the transformation of the live R strain into a virulent S strain by the genetic material from the dead S strain, as concluded in Griffith's transformation experiments.

Step-by-step explanation:

The outcome of Frederick Griffith's experiment when he infected mice with a combination of dead R and live S bacterial strains was that the mice died. This occurred because of a phenomenon known as transformation. Specifically, genetic material from the heat-killed S strain (which was virulent but dead) transformed the live R strain (which was non-virulent) into a virulent form. Therefore, the mixture of dead S strain and live R strain resulted in the R strain being transformed into a virulent S strain, leading to the death of the mice. Griffith concluded that the transforming principle was responsible for this genetic transfer.