Lecture 2a Flashcards
What were the candidates for genetic material?
Protein, DNA, and RNA.
Why were protein, DNA, and RNA the only candidates for genetic material?
They were the only molecules complex/big enough to contain instructions/blueprints.
What was proposed to the be the phosphorus storage?
DNA
What did DNA just appear to be?
An inert repeating polymer of nucleotides.
In the early 1900’s what did most biologists expect to be the genetic material?
Proteins, because they seemed to have the complexity and diversity needed.
What two strains of bacterium made it possible to test whether protein or DNA is the genetic material?
R and S strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae.
What strain killed the mice?
S strain
What strain could the mice survive?
R strain
Why could the S strain kill?
It appeared to have virulence genes that the R strain lacked.
What was the process for injecting the R strain?
Living type R bacteria were injected into a mouse. After several days, the mouse survived and no living bacteria were isolated.
What was the process for injecting the S strain?
Living type S bacteria were injected into a mouse. After several days, the mouse died, and type S bacteria were isolated from the dead mouse.
What happens when we grow bacterial cells on top of bacterial food?
They form yellow colonies that we can isolate.
In 1928, who showed that the living R strain could take up the virulence genes from a dead S strain?
Frederick Griffith
What did Griffith show?
A live R strain could take up the virulence genes from a dead S strain, turning the R strain into S cells.
What was Griffith’s process with the S and R strains?
1) Living type R and heat-killed type S bacteria were injected into a mouse.
2) After several days, the mouse died.
3) Live S cells were isolated from the dead mouse.
In 1944, who showed that genes are made of DNA?
Avery, MacLeod, and McCarthy.
What did Avery, MacLeod, and McCarthy show?
Genes are made of DNA.
Describe Avery, MacLeod, and McCarthy’s process.
1) They purified protein, DNA, and RNA from S cells.
2) They mixed each preparation with R cells.
3) They watched which turned the R cells into S cells, which ended up being the DNA.
What was Avery, MacLeod, and McCarthy’s conclusion?
Genes that turn R into S are DNA.
Did people accept Avery, MacLeod, and McCarthy’s findings?
No, they resisted the idea that DNA (and not protein) was the genetic material.
In 1952, who else did experiments that confirmed DNA is genetic material?
Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase
What type of virus did Hershey and Chase use and why?
Bacteriophage T2. They were known to consist of protein and DNA, but not RNA so they could test between the two best options.