DNA and RNA Chapter 12

Griffith and Transformation

Griffith hypothesized… when the live, harmless bacteria and the heat-killed bacteria were mixed, some factor was transferred from the heat-killed cells into the live cells The ability to cause disease was inherited by the transformed bacteria’s offspring, the transforming factor might be a gene

Avery and DNA Avery and collegues made an extract from the heat-killed bacteria then treated it with enzymes that destroyed proteins, lipids, CHOs, and RNA Transformation still occurred When DNA was destroyed, transformation did not occur DNA stores and transmits the genetic information from one generation of an organism to the next

**The Hershey-Chase Experiment

Hershey and Chase concluded… the genetic material of the bacteriophage was DNA, not protein

The Structure of DNA nucleotides Phosphate Nitrogen deoxyribose group base

Nitrogen Bases

Chargaff’s Rules [A] = [T] and [G] = [C]

X-Ray Evidence R. Franklin used x-ray diffraction to learn about the structure of DNA

The Double Helix F. Crick and J. Watson (1953) 2 strands wound together Hydrogen bonds form between certain bases with just enough force to hold 2 strands together A ---- T G ---- C Base pairing principle explained Chargaff