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Question
Who revealed biochemical nature of the transforming principle? How was it done?
Solution
Prior to the work of Oswald Avery, Colin MacLeod and Maclyn McCarty (1933 - 44), the genetic material was thought to be a protein. They worked to determine the biochemical nature of ‘transforming principle’ in Griffith’s experiment. They purified biochemicals (proteins, DNA, RNA, etc.) from the heat-killed S cells to see which ones could transform live R cells into S cells. They discovered that DNA alone from S bacteria caused R bacteria to become transformed.
They also discovered that protein-digesting enzymes (proteases) and RNA-digesting enzymes (RNases) did not affect transformation, so the transforming substance was not a protein or RNA. Digestion with DNase did inhibit transformation, suggesting that the DNA caused the transformation. They concluded that DNA is the hereditary material, but not all biologists were convinced.
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