If Hershey and Chase had found 32P in both the pellet and the supernatant of the
ID: 93773 • Letter: I
Question
If Hershey and Chase had found 32P in both the pellet and the supernatant of the phage-infected bacteria, what would have been their likely conclusion about the type of molecule which transmits genetic information?
a. A protein must be the genetic information molecule.
b. DNA is the genetic information molecule.
c. Phage must have stuck to the bacteria in addition to floating in the supernatant.
d. Phosphorus was in the genetic information molecule.
e. No conclusion about the genetic information molecule would have been possible from these results.
Explanation / Answer
e. No conclusion about the genetic information molecule would have been possible from these results.
If the 32P radioactivity was found in pellet, it could be assumed that the 32P must have been passed on to the new progeny. In the original Hershey and Chase experiments, they found that the much of the radioactivity was passed on to the next generation of bacteriophages.