Multiple Choice
When comparing DNA and RNA viruses, which statement is correct?
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7. DNA and Chromosome Structure
DNA as the Genetic Material
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Which experiment provided the first strong evidence that DNA is the genetic material in cells?
A
Avery, MacLeod, and McCarty's transformation experiment with Streptococcus pneumoniae
B
Meselson and Stahl's experiment on DNA replication
C
Griffith's experiment demonstrating transformation in mice
D
Beadle and Tatum's one gene–one enzyme hypothesis
Verified step by step guidance1
Step 1: Understand the historical context of experiments that identified DNA as the genetic material. Early 20th-century scientists debated whether proteins or DNA carried genetic information.
Step 2: Review Griffith's experiment, which demonstrated transformation in Streptococcus pneumoniae by showing that a 'transforming principle' could transfer virulence between bacterial strains, but did not identify the chemical nature of this material.
Step 3: Examine Avery, MacLeod, and McCarty's experiment, which built on Griffith's work by isolating and identifying DNA as the 'transforming principle' responsible for transferring genetic information, providing the first strong chemical evidence that DNA is the genetic material.
Step 4: Consider Meselson and Stahl's experiment, which later demonstrated the semi-conservative replication of DNA, confirming how DNA replicates but not initially proving DNA as genetic material.
Step 5: Recognize that Beadle and Tatum's work focused on the one gene–one enzyme hypothesis, linking genes to enzyme production, but did not address the chemical nature of genetic material.
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