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By
Rajeshwari Tiwari
Department of Biotechnology
Maris Stella College
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Frederick Griffith: Bacterial transformation
 In 1928, British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith conducted
a series of experiments using Streptococcus
pneumoniae bacteria and mice.
 Griffith wasn't trying to identify the genetic material, but
rather, trying to develop a vaccine against pneumonia.
 In his experiments, Griffith used two related strains of
bacteria, known as R and S.
Experiment
 R strain. When grown in a petri dish, the R bacteria
formed colonies, or clumps of related bacteria, that had
well-defined edges and a rough appearance (hence the
abbreviation "R").
 The R bacteria were nonvirulent, meaning that they did
not cause sickness when injected into a mouse.
 S strain. S bacteria formed colonies that were rounded
and smooth (hence the abbreviation "S").
 The smooth appearance was due to a polysaccharide, or
sugar-based, coat produced by the bacteria.
 This coat protected the S bacteria from the mouse
immune system, making them virulent (capable of
causing disease).
 Mice injected with live S bacteria developed pneumonia
and died.
 As part of his experiments, Griffith tried injecting mice
with heat-killed S bacteria (that is, S bacteria that had
been heated to high temperatures, causing the cells to
die).
 Unsurprisingly, the heat-killed S bacteria did not cause
disease in mice.
 The experiments took an unexpected turn, however,
when harmless R bacteria were combined with harmless
heat-killed S bacteria and injected into a mouse.
 Not only did the mouse develop pnenumonia and die, but
when Griffith took a blood sample from the dead mouse,
he found that it contained living S bacteria!
process
Conclusion
 Griffith concluded that the R-strain bacteria must have
taken up what he called a "transforming principle" from
the heat-killed S bacteria, which allowed them to
"transform" into smooth-coated bacteria and become
virulent

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Evidences to prove dna as genetic material

  • 1. By Rajeshwari Tiwari Department of Biotechnology Maris Stella College This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
  • 2. Frederick Griffith: Bacterial transformation  In 1928, British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith conducted a series of experiments using Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria and mice.  Griffith wasn't trying to identify the genetic material, but rather, trying to develop a vaccine against pneumonia.  In his experiments, Griffith used two related strains of bacteria, known as R and S.
  • 3. Experiment  R strain. When grown in a petri dish, the R bacteria formed colonies, or clumps of related bacteria, that had well-defined edges and a rough appearance (hence the abbreviation "R").  The R bacteria were nonvirulent, meaning that they did not cause sickness when injected into a mouse.
  • 4.  S strain. S bacteria formed colonies that were rounded and smooth (hence the abbreviation "S").  The smooth appearance was due to a polysaccharide, or sugar-based, coat produced by the bacteria.  This coat protected the S bacteria from the mouse immune system, making them virulent (capable of causing disease).  Mice injected with live S bacteria developed pneumonia and died.
  • 5.  As part of his experiments, Griffith tried injecting mice with heat-killed S bacteria (that is, S bacteria that had been heated to high temperatures, causing the cells to die).  Unsurprisingly, the heat-killed S bacteria did not cause disease in mice.
  • 6.  The experiments took an unexpected turn, however, when harmless R bacteria were combined with harmless heat-killed S bacteria and injected into a mouse.  Not only did the mouse develop pnenumonia and die, but when Griffith took a blood sample from the dead mouse, he found that it contained living S bacteria!
  • 8. Conclusion  Griffith concluded that the R-strain bacteria must have taken up what he called a "transforming principle" from the heat-killed S bacteria, which allowed them to "transform" into smooth-coated bacteria and become virulent