- Griffith's experiment showed that a non-pathogenic strain of bacteria could be transformed into a pathogenic strain after exposure to heat-killed pathogenic bacteria. This indicated the presence of a "transforming principle" that could alter the bacteria's genetic properties. - Later experiments by Avery, MacLeod and McCarty identified DNA as the molecule responsible for bacterial transformation. They showed that DNA is the genetic material that is able to transform one type of bacteria into another through uptake and incorporation of foreign DNA. - Transformation, transduction, and conjugation are mechanisms by which prokaryotes can transfer genetic material between each other. Transformation involves taking up free DNA from the environment, while conjugation involves direct transfer of DNA through