Hershey and Chase's experiment, also known as the "blender experiment," demonstrated that DNA, not proteins, is the genetic material responsible for the inheritance of traits in viruses.
In their experiment, Hershey and Chase used two types of bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) - one with a protein coat and the other with a DNA core. They labeled the protein coat of one type of bacteriophage with radioactive sulfur-35 and the DNA of the other type of bacteriophage with radioactive phosphorus-32.
Hershey and Chase then infected separate cultures of E. coli bacteria with each type of labeled bacteriophage. After allowing the bacteriophages to infect the bacteria, they used a blender to separate the bacteriophage particles from the bacterial cells. This created a mixture of bacteriophage particles and bacterial cell debris.
The mixture was then centrifuged, which separated the heavier bacterial cell debris from the lighter bacteriophage particles. Hershey and Chase observed that most of the radioactive phosphorus-32 was found in the bacterial cells, indicating that DNA had been transferred from the bacteriophage particles to the bacterial cells. In contrast, most of the radioactive sulfur-35 remained in the bacteriophage particles, indicating that the viral protein did not enter the bacterial cells.
This experiment provided strong evidence that DNA, not protein, is the genetic material responsible for the inheritance of traits in viruses.