Question

How did Avery's contributions to the understanding of heredity depend on the work of other scientists?

Answer 1

Avery's contributions to the understanding of heredity depended on the work of other scientists, particularly Frederick Griffith. Griffith discovered that genetic material could be transferred between bacteria but did not know what that material was.

Avery and his colleagues expanded Griffith's work through experiments to identify the nature of the genetic material responsible for the transformation of bacteria. They purified various components of the bacteria and tested each one to see if it was responsible for the transfer of genetic information.

Their experiments showed that the genetic material responsible for transformation was DNA, not protein or RNA as some scientists had previously thought. Avery's work was groundbreaking because it provided the first direct evidence that DNA was the molecule responsible for transmitting genetic information from one generation to the next.

However, Avery's work depended on the contributions of other scientists. For example, Oswald T. Avery had previously conducted research on the bacterial transformation in the early 1940s. Avery and his colleagues had also benefited from the discovery of X-ray crystallography by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins, which allowed them to examine the structure of DNA more closely.

In conclusion, Avery's contributions to the understanding of heredity were built on the work of other scientists who had made important discoveries before him. Without their work, Avery may not have conducted the experiments that led to the identification of DNA as the genetic material.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

Avery's contributions to the understanding of heredity depended on the work of other scientists in several ways. First, Avery built on the work of Gregor Mendel, who discovered the basic principles of heredity through experiments with pea plants. Mendel's work showed that traits are passed down from parents to offspring in a predictable way, but he did not know what the physical basis of heredity was.

Second, Avery's work was based on the discovery of DNA by Friedrich Miescher in 1869. Miescher discovered a substance in the nuclei of cells that he called "nuclein," which was later identified as DNA. This discovery laid the foundation for Avery's work on the role of DNA in heredity.

Finally, Avery's work was influenced by the discovery of bacterial transformation by Frederick Griffith in 1928. Griffith showed that a non-virulent strain of bacteria could be transformed into a virulent strain by exposure to heat-killed virulent bacteria. Avery's experiments built on Griffith's work by showing that the transforming substance was DNA.

In summary, Avery's contributions to the understanding of heredity depended on the work of other scientists, including Mendel, Miescher, and Griffith. Avery's work built on their discoveries and helped to establish the role of DNA as the physical basis of heredity.