St.

Bridget College
Batangas City, Philippines
COLLEGE DEPARTMENT
PAASCU Accredited
Contact No. (043) 723-3616

Name: Christine Leona De Leon Date: October 6,2021

Year & Section:BSED4-Science

Experiment No. 4
The Hershey-Chase Experiment
Introduction
We know about Griffith’s experiment and experiments that followed
to discover the hereditary material in organisms. Based on Griffith’s
experiment, Avery and his team isolated DNA and proved DNA to be
the genetic material. But it was not accepted by all until Hershey and
Chase published their experimental results.
In 1952, Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase took an effort to find the
genetic material in organisms. Their experiments led to an unequivocal
proof to DNA as genetic material. Bacteriophages (viruses that affect
bacteria) were the key element for Hershey and Chase experiment.
Hershey and Chase studied a bacteriophage that was composed of
a DNA core and a protein coat. They wanted to determine which part of
the virus-the protein coat or the DNA core- entered the bacterial cell.
Their results would either support or disprove Avery’s finding that genes
were made of DNA.
The virus doesn’t have their own mechanism of reproduction but
they depend on a host for the same. Once they attach to the host cell,
their genetic material is transferred to the host. Here in case of
bacteriophages, bacteria are their host. The infected bacteria are
manipulated by the bacteriophages such that bacterial cells start to
replicate the viral genetic material. Hershey and Chase conducted an

M. H. Del Pilar St., Batangas City 4200, Philippines

www.sbcbatangas.edu.ph
 St. Bridget College
Batangas City, Philippines
COLLEGE DEPARTMENT
PAASCU Accredited
Contact No. (043) 723-3616

experiment to discover whether it was protein or DNA that acted as the

genetic material that entered the bacteria.
Objectives
- To investigate the molecular mechanisms by which genes function in
organisms.
-To identify where genes are made and how organisms grow and develop
-To confirm if previous experimental findings that the DNA and protein
components of phages were separable.

Materials
 Cultures containing radioactive isotopes of Phosphorus-32 ( 32P) and
Sulfur-35 (35S)

Procedures based on the Video

1. Bacterial viruses called phage were used to demonstrate that DNA is
the genetic material.
2. Phage consisted of a DNA molecule surrounded by a protein coat when
phage infect bacteria. Attach to the surface of the bacterium and inject
the DNA into the cell.
3. The protein coat remains on the outside of the cell.
In the first part, phage was produced in a medium containing S-35
radioactively-labeled amino acids. This resulted in a phage population
with S-35 labelled proteins but no radioactive label in the DNA.
4. The phage allowed to infect the bacteria. It will attach to the bacterial
cell and injected their DNA but the radioactively-labeled protein coat
remained on the outside of the cell.

M. H. Del Pilar St., Batangas City 4200, Philippines

www.sbcbatangas.edu.ph
 St. Bridget College
Batangas City, Philippines
COLLEGE DEPARTMENT
PAASCU Accredited
Contact No. (043) 723-3616

5. The phage produced in these cells contained no radioactivity vigorous

shaking caused the empty protein coats to be removed but did not
interfere with production of new phage in the cell.
In the second part of the experiment, phage was produced in a
medium containing P-32 labeled deoxyribonucleotides. This resulted in
a phage population with P-32 labeled DNA but no radioactive label in
the protein when the phage infected the bacteria. The P-32 labeled
DNA entered the cell and could be found in phage. Subsequently,
produced in the infected bacteria. This demonstrated that the DNA but
not the protein carries the genetic information for a new generation of
phage.

Observations
Kindly provide an illustration of results.
Hershey and Chase Experiment
Bacteriophage with
Phosphorus-32 in
DNA

Bacteriophage with
Sulfure-35 in Protein
Coat

M. H. Del Pilar St., Batangas City 4200, Philippines

www.sbcbatangas.edu.ph
 St. Bridget College
Batangas City, Philippines
COLLEGE DEPARTMENT
PAASCU Accredited
Contact No. (043) 723-3616

Analysis
1. What happens when a bacteriophage infects a bacterium?
- When a bacteriophage enters a bacterium, it attaches to the surface of
the bacterial cell and injects its genetic information into it. The viral
genes act to produce many new bacteriophage, which gradually destroy
the bacterium.
2. What did the bacteriophage used by Hershey and Chase consist of?
- The Hershey–Chase experiment was carried out with a virus, called
bacteriophage T2, that infects bacteria. Bacteriophage T2 consists of
little more than a DNA core packed inside a protein coat. Thus, the
virus is made of the two materials that were, at the time, the leading
candidates for the genetic material
3. What question did Hershey and Chase seek to answer with their
experiment?

M. H. Del Pilar St., Batangas City 4200, Philippines

www.sbcbatangas.edu.ph
 St. Bridget College
Batangas City, Philippines
COLLEGE DEPARTMENT
PAASCU Accredited
Contact No. (043) 723-3616

- They answered the that the genetic material of the bacteriophage was
DNA, not protein.

4. What conclusion did Hershey and Chase draw from their experiment?

- They concluded that DNA enters the bacterial cell during infection, but
the proteins did not. They also concluded that DNA must carry the
genetic information responsible for producing new phages.

5. Why did Hershey and Chase grow viruses in cultures that contained
both radioactive phosphorus and radioactive sulfur? What might have
happened if they had used only one radioactive substance?

- Hershey and Chase used both radioactive phosphorus and radioactive

sulfur. This was a clever strategy since they knew that protein
contained almost no phosphorus and DNA contains no sulfur.

Conclusion
Therefore I conclude that Hershey and Chase protein was not
genetic material, and that DNA was genetic material. hey determined that a
protective protein coat was formed around the bacteriophage, but that the
internal DNA is what conferred its ability to produce progeny inside a
bacterium. Hershey and Chase were also able to prove that the DNA from
the phage is inserted into the bacteria shortly after the virus attaches to its

M. H. Del Pilar St., Batangas City 4200, Philippines

www.sbcbatangas.edu.ph
 St. Bridget College
Batangas City, Philippines
COLLEGE DEPARTMENT
PAASCU Accredited
Contact No. (043) 723-3616

host. Using a high-speed blender they were able to force the

bacteriophages from the bacterial cells after adsorption.

Reference
BioMagica (2018). Hershey and Chase Experiment- Finding the
Genetic Material (T2 Bacteriophage). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu1U9pmc34k

ACTIVITY: LABEL ME
Label the DNA and RNA. Then, Label the missing nucleotides marked on
the diagram. Write your answer in the space provided below.

M. H. Del Pilar St., Batangas City 4200, Philippines

www.sbcbatangas.edu.ph
 St. Bridget College
Batangas City, Philippines
COLLEGE DEPARTMENT
PAASCU Accredited
Contact No. (043) 723-3616

1. Guanine
2. Thymine
3. Cytosine
4. Adenine
5. RNA
6. DNA
RNA Worksheet
Find your answer in the given box below. Write your answer in the
blank provided.

M. H. Del Pilar St., Batangas City 4200, Philippines

www.sbcbatangas.edu.ph
 St. Bridget College
Batangas City, Philippines
COLLEGE DEPARTMENT
PAASCU Accredited
Contact No. (043) 723-3616

Ribose Deoxyribose

Single Guanine

Double Uracil

Structure of RNA
7. The sugar in a nucleotide of RNA is Ribose
8. RNA is a single-stranded polymer.
Comparison of Nucleic Acids
9. The five-carbon sugar in RNA is ribose whereas in DNA it is deoxyribose
10. DNA molecules are double -stranded.

M. H. Del Pilar St., Batangas City 4200, Philippines

www.sbcbatangas.edu.ph