Background Check  Born on October 21, 1877  Was a Canadian-born American physician and medical researcher  Studied in the field of molecular biology  His career was spent at Rockefeller University Hospital in New York City  Died February 20, 1955

Frederick Griffith  Frederick Griffith discovered that bacterium are capable of transferring genetic information by a process known as transformation.  This began Avery’s claim to fame.  This discovery was important for Avery because it helped lead to his main achievement.  It helped Avery because he picked up from Griffith’s first discoveries and added on to what was already known.

Avery’s Main Achievement  Years ago, it was always believed that genetic information was found in cell protein.  Oswald Avery discovered that genetic information is found in the DNA of cells, disproving that protein carried a cells genetic information.  By heat-treating bacteria, Avery injected the bacteria with a substance containing enzymes that destroyed proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acid RNA, but transformation still occurred.  This showed that protein was not responsible for transferring genetic information.  By repeating the experiment one more time, this time they used enzymes to break down DNA.  When DNA was destroyed, transformation did not occur. This proved that DNA was the transforming factor.

Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase  Hershey and Chase continued Avery’s research with the “Hershey-Chase” experiment.  The Hershey-Chase experiment helped confirm that DNA is genetic material  Because of this, people knew that proteins carried the information for inheritance.

Sources  DF19B15.jpg DF19B15.jpg   Miller and Levine Biology Textbook