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Question

How did Hershey and Chase differentiate between DNA and protein in their experiment while proving that DNA is the genetic material?

Prabhat Rajore · Accepted Answer

Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase worked with viruses that infect bacteria called bacteriophages.
To differentiate between DNA and protein they grew bacteriophages on medium that contained on radioactive sulfur (S³⁵)or radioactive phosphorous (P³²). It produces two types of viruses
i. Viruses (grown on radioactive phosphorus medium) with radioactive DNA and non -radioactive protein as DNA has phosphorous.
ii. Viruses (grown on radioactive sulphur ) contained radioactive protein but not radioactive DNA because DNA does not contain sulphur.
These viruses were allowed to infect bacteria. The infected bacteria contained radioactive DNA and not protein. Therefore, DNA is the genetic material that passed from virus to bacteria and not protein.

Hershey-Chase Experiment