Alfred Hershey
and
Martha Chase
The Experiment
- Alfred Hershey was born on December 1908, in Owosso, Michigan. He conducted what is known as the blender experiment with his partner Martha Chase
- Chase graduated from the College of Wooster in Ohio, then was hired as an assistant for Dr. Alfred D. Hershey
- the two performed an experiment to determine whether DNA or its associated protein coat carried the genetic information for infection
In 1952 Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase were able to demonstrate that DNA was transferred from bacteriophages to bacteria, a discovery that confirmed DNA is the carrier of genetic material for phages.
What was the Purpose?
Hershey-Chase Experiment
Hershey and Chase conducted an experiment to determine which was the genetic material of a cell; Protein or DNA.
Conclusion
By: Kailah Edwards & Emma Morrison
- DNA is the only part of the phage that is injected into bacteria cell
- This makes it the genetic material because it carries the genetic information for new phages
Bacteriophages
- In their experiment they used phages (a virus) which consists of a DNA strand surrounded by a protein coat.
- They grew viruses containing radioactive isotopes of phosphorus-32 and sulfur-35
Phosphorous-32
- tracked the DNA in the bacteriophage
- showed that the DNA from the bacteriophage is injected into the bacteria cell
Sulfur-35
- tracked the protein coat of the bacteriophage
- determined that the protein coat is not injected into the bacteria cell (only DNA)