Question

If Avery, MacLeod, and McCarty had found that samples of heat-killed bacteria treated with DNase or protease transformed bacteria, but samples treated with RNase did not, what conclusion would they have made?

1) Protease carries out genetic information
2) RNA and DNA are the genetic materials
3) RNA is the genetic material
4) RNase and DNase are necessary for transformation

Answer 1

They would have concluded that RNA is the genetic material, based on the exclusive preservation of transformation ability in samples not treated with RNase.

Step-by-step explanation:

If Avery, MacLeod, and McCarty had found that samples of heat-killed bacteria treated with DNase or protease transformed bacteria, but samples treated with RNase did not, they would have concluded that RNA is the genetic material.

This conclusion would have been drawn because the experiment would indicate that only the destruction of RNA, not DNA or protein, can prevent transformation. Thus, the only molecule not being degraded and still allowing transformation would be RNA, suggesting its role as the carrier of genetic information.