Griffith's experiment with pneumococcus demonstrated that
A) smooth bacteria can survive heating.
B) DNA, not protein, is the genetic molecule.
C) materials from dead organisms can affect and change living organisms.
D) nonliving viruses can change living cells.
E) None of the above

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Griffith conducted his experiment with two strains of pneumococcus - one smooth and one rough. When he injected the live rough pneumococcus into mice, they remained healthy, but when he injected the heat-killed smooth bacteria, the mice did not survive. However, when he injected a mixture of heat-killed smooth bacteria and live rough bacteria, the mice died, and he found live smooth bacteria in their blood. This demonstrated that materials from the dead smooth bacteria had transformed the live rough bacteria into the pathogenic smooth form, showing that non-living materials can affect and change living organisms. This process became known as transformation and played a key role in the discovery of DNA as the genetic material.

Griffith's Experiment with Pneumococcus Demonstrated That