Final answer:
Hershey and Chase used radioactive phosphorus, specifically isotope 32P, to label DNA and radioactive sulfur, and isotope 35S, to label protein in bacteriophages to distinguish between the two and demonstrate that DNA is the molecule responsible for carrying genetic information. The correct option is c)phosphorus
Step-by-step explanation:
Hershey and Chase used a radioactive isotope of phosphorus to label the DNA component of bacteriophages. They employed this method because phosphorus is an element found in DNA due to its presence in the backbone of the DNA molecule, which is composed of sugar and phosphate groups.
However, phosphorus is not typically found in proteins. Therefore, radioactive phosphorus, specifically isotope 32P, enabled them to track the DNA within the phages.
Conversely, to label the protein component of the bacteriophages, they used radioactive sulfur, isotope 35S, because sulfur is commonly found in the amino acids methionine and cysteine, which are building blocks of proteins, and not in DNA or RNA.
This differentiation allowed Hershey and Chase to determine which component, DNA or protein, was responsible for carrying genetic information into bacteria when bacteriophages inject their material during infection. The correct option is c)phosphorus