Final answer:
The ability to detect gene-centromere crossovers was not essential to Beadle and Tatum's experiments. They focused on the relationship between genes and enzymes in biosynthetic pathways through growth observations on various media.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks about essential components of the experiments conducted by Beadle and Tatum, which were instrumental in forming the one gene-one enzyme hypothesis. Among the options provided, the ability to detect gene-centromere crossovers was not essential for Beadle and Tatum's work on Neurospora crassa. Their experiments were focused on inducing mutations using a mutagen and examining the growth of irradiated spores on different media, in order to determine the association between specific genes and the enzymes they encode within biosynthetic pathways such as the one for the amino acid arginine.
They used a minimal medium to grow N. crassa and then added either the full suite of nutrients or specific metabolic intermediates or amino acids to isolate and understand particular mutants' requirements. The procedure relied on observing the mutants' ability or inability to grow when specific nutrients were missing, thus determining the specific gene involved in the biosynthesis of a required supplement.
The correct answer is d. the ability to detect gene-centromere crossovers. The experiments conducted by Beadle and Tatum involved studying the relationship between genes and the enzymes they encode in the mold Neurospora crassa. They used a mutagen to induce mutations in the mold and then grew the mutated spores on both complete and minimal mediums to determine which nutrients the mutants were unable to produce. By supplementing the minimal medium with different intermediates, they were able to identify mutants with defects in different genes. However, the ability to detect gene-centromere crossovers was not essential for their experiments.