Q10 of 71 Page 41

Recall the experiments done by Frederick Griffith, Avery, MacLeod and McCarty, where DNA was speculated to be the genetic material. If RNA, instead of DNA was the genetic material, would the heat killed strain of Pneumococcus have transformed the R-strain into virulent strain? Explain.

If RNA, instead of DNA was the genetic material, the heat killed strain of Pneumococcus would not have transformed the R-strain into virulent strain. This is because RNA is not thermo stable. Which means that RNA is more prone to degradation by heat because of the presence of 2’OH group in itsribose. As a result of which it would have lost the capability to change the R-strain to virulent strain.


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