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Is the following statement true or false? It S(35) was found in bacteria, it would mean that the viruses DNA had been injected into the bacteria.

User Pongpat
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Final answer:

The statement is false; in the Hershey and Chase experiment, radioactive isotope 35S labeled proteins, not DNA, and only 32P, which labeled DNA, entered bacterial cells, confirming DNA as the genetic material.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement that if S(35) was found in bacteria, it would mean that the virus's DNA had been injected into the bacteria, is false. In the renowned Hershey and Chase experiment, the radioactive isotope 35S was actually used to label the protein component of viruses that infect bacteria, otherwise known as bacteriophages. On the other hand, 32P was used to label the DNA. They found that after infection, only the 32P-labeled DNA was found inside the bacterial cells, while the 35S-labeled proteins remained outside in the phage remnants found in the supernatant. This was pivotal in concluding that DNA, not protein, is the genetic material transmitted by viruses into the host cells to initiate infection.

User Paegun
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