Genetics-1: DNA or RNA Module 1.1 Quiz

What is the genetic material found in genomes?

Which term refers to segments of DNA that encode functional products like proteins?

What did Griffith's Transforming Experiment (1928) involve?

Which experiment provided definitive proof that DNA was the genetic material?

What was the outcome when mice were injected with dead IIIS bacteria in Griffith's experiment?

Which structure encodes all hereditary information and is made up of DNA?

Which component of the dead IIIS bacteria was responsible for transforming the IIR in the experiment described?

What was the outcome when live IIR was added after treating each set of heat-killed IIIS bacteria with a specific enzyme?

In the Hershey-Chase Experiment, what was found to be the genetic material based on the radioactive labelling results?

What was the finding when bacteriophages grown in medium containing 35S-labelled amino acids were used in the Hershey-Chase Experiment?

What did the Reconstituted TMV experiment reveal about many viruses?

What differentiated the outcomes of treating heat-killed IIIS bacteria with different enzymes in the Transforming Experiment?

Genetic Material and Genome

The genetic material found in genomes is DNA.
Genes refer to segments of DNA that encode functional products like proteins.

Griffith's Transforming Experiment (1928)

The experiment involved transforming non-virulent Streptococcus pneumoniae (IIR) bacteria into virulent ones by injecting mice with a mixture of dead virulent Streptococcus pneumoniae (IIIS) bacteria and live IIR bacteria.

Outcome of Griffith's Experiment

When mice were injected with dead IIIS bacteria, they did not die.
When mice were injected with a mixture of dead IIIS bacteria and live IIR bacteria, they died, indicating that the dead IIIS bacteria had transformed the live IIR bacteria.

Structure of Genetic Information

The genome is the structure that encodes all hereditary information and is made up of DNA.

Transforming Component of IIIS Bacteria

The component of the dead IIIS bacteria responsible for transforming the IIR bacteria was DNA.

Enzyme Treatment in Transforming Experiment

When heat-killed IIIS bacteria were treated with DNase (an enzyme that breaks down DNA), the transforming ability was lost.
When heat-killed IIIS bacteria were treated with RNase (an enzyme that breaks down RNA), the transforming ability was retained.

Hershey-Chase Experiment

The experiment found that DNA, not protein, was the genetic material based on the radioactive labelling results.
The finding showed that 35S-labelled amino acids were not incorporated into the bacteriophages, indicating that DNA was the genetic material.

Reconstituted TMV Experiment

The experiment revealed that many viruses have RNA as their genetic material.

Test your understanding of the genetic material, crucial experiments proving nucleic acids as the genetic material, and the chromosome theory of inheritance. Explore the concepts of DNA, RNA, chromosomes, and genomes within a cell.