Griffith's experiments with S. pneumoniae were significant because they showed that traits could be transferred from one organism to another. What else did he find that was significant?

A. A virus made the bacteria pathogenic.
B. Protein could not be the genetic material.
C. DNA was the genetic material.
D. Heat kills bacteria.
E. The transferred traits were heritable.

Frederick Griffith's experiments demonstrated the transformation of harmless bacteria into deadly ones by a substance from heat-killed virulent strains, suggesting the horizontal transfer of genetic material, which was later identified as DNA.

Explanation:

The experiments conducted by Frederick Griffith with Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) were groundbreaking in the field of genetics. Griffith demonstrated that hereditary characteristics could be transferred through a process he termed 'transformation'. Specifically, his experiments showed that a substance from heat-killed virulent S strain bacteria was capable of transforming a non-virulent R strain into a virulent S strain when injected into mice. This transformation resulted in the mice's death, indicating the transferred traits were heritable and could induce pathogenicity.

While Griffith did not identify the nature of the transforming principle, his work laid the groundwork for future research, suggesting that genetic material could be transferred horizontally (between individuals of the same generation), as opposed to solely vertically (from parent to offspring). Griffith's pivotal conclusion was that the transforming principle was likely the molecule responsible for heredity, which later experiments by Oswald Avery and others would determine to be DNA.

akursharma9034 akursharma9034 · Answer 2 · 2025-01-31T04:47:01-05:00

Griffith's experiments with s. pneumoniae were significant because they showed that traits could be transferred from one organism to another. he find that the transferred traits were heritable.

Griffith's experiments with S. pneumoniae were important because they showed that traits can be transmitted from one organism to another and that these transmitted traits are known as heritable traits. did. Another experiment conducted by Hershey and Chase confirmed that DNA is actually genetic material, not protein.

Hershey and Chase were able to separate the phage into radioactive sulfur-containing protein ghosts and radioactive phosphorus-containing DNA. They found that radioactive sulfur protein ghosts can stick to bacterial membranes, but radioactive phosphorous DNA cannot.

Learn more about Hershey and Chase from:

https://brainly.com/question/8721788

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