They would have concluded that the protein coat also entered the bacterial cell and could not deduce that protein is the genetic material.
Step-by-step explanation:
In their experiment, Hershey and chase found that all the DNA coated with 32 p were missing from the solution as bacteriophage after adsorption on bacterial cell their DNA was transferred to the bacterial cell. The presence of 32 S in the solution shows that the protein coat does not enter the cell during infection.
This way they concluded that DNA is the genetic material and not the protein.
Since phage infecting bacteria inserted their DNA into it and got replicated increasing their number. Also, protein is not involved in their growing numbers.