The Hershey-Chase experiment was a series of experiments, conducted in 1952 by Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase. In scientific inquiry an experiment ( Latin: Ex- periri, "to try out" is a method of investigating particular types of research questions or Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Alfred Day Hershey ( December 4, 1908 &ndash May 22 1997) was an American Nobel Prize -winning Bacteriologist and Martha Cowles Chase (1927 &ndash August 8, 2003) also known as Martha C It identified DNA to be the genetic material of phages and, ultimately, of all organisms. Deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA) is a Nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known Genetic material is used to store the genetic information of an organic life form This article is about a biological infectious particle for other uses see Phage (disambiguation. Before this experiment was conducted, it was suspected that proteins were the genetic material in viruses, not DNA. A bacteriophage is a small virus that infects bacteria. A virus (from the Latin virus meaning Toxin or Poison) is a sub-microscopic infectious agent that is unable The Bacteria ( singular: bacterium) are a large group of unicellular Microorganisms Typically a few Micrometres in length bacteria have It consists of a protein coat that encloses the genetic material. Proteins are large Organic compounds made of Amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by Peptide bonds between the Carboxyl When a phage infects a bacterium, it inserts its genetic material into the bacterium, while its coat remains outside.

Structural overview of T2 phage

In a first experiment, T2 phages with radioactive ³²P-labeled DNA infected bacteria. Enterobacteria phage T2 is a virulent bacteriophage of the T4-like viruses genus in the family Myoviridae. In a second experiment, T2 phages with radioactive ³⁵S-labeled protein infected bacteria. In both experiments, bacteria were separated from the phage coats by blending followed by centrifugation. A centrifuge is a piece of equipment generally driven by a motor that puts an object in Rotation around a fixed axis, applying a force perpendicular to the axis In the first experiment, most radioactivity was found in the infected bacteria, while in the second experiment most radioactivity was found in the phage coat. These experiments demonstrated that DNA is the genetic material of phage and that protein does not transmit genetic information.

Hershey shared the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his “discoveries concerning the genetic structure of viruses. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (Nobelpriset i fysiologi eller medicin is awarded once a year by the Swedish Karolinska Institute. ”

Overview of the experiment done by Hershey and Chase in 1952

Literature Cited

Hershey, A. D. and Chase, M. (1952) Independent functions of viral protein and nucleic acid in growth of bacteriophage. Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. J Gen Physiol. 36:39-56.