The Henry-Chase Experiment By Alfred Hershey And Martha Chase

Describing chromosomes have been known as structures containing genes that control phenotypic traits that are transmitted through gametes to future offspring. A major piece of evidence supporting this was the Henry-Chase experiment. In 1952, Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase published the results of their experiment observations of the process leading to phage reproduction using E. coli cells. Under their electron micrographs it was revealed that the phages exterior structures is formed with a hexagonal head plus a tail. The experiment helped conclude several things. One, T2 cells as they called it consist of approximately fifty percent protein and fifty percent DNA. Two, infections is initiated by adsorptions of the phage from its tail fibers to the transmitted bacteria cell.
To fully understand the actions of the viruses, Henry and Chase used radioisotopes to follow the molecular components of the phages during the viral infection. Using Phosphorus to label the DNA in the cell and Sulfur in the cells to identify the protein in the cell, this helped labeled which way the phage would be favorited. This also became a major component of the experiment because if the E. coli cells are grown in the presence of P or S cells then the infected with T2 viruses, the progeny phage will have either a labeled DNA core or a labeled protein coat. By tracing the radioisotopes, Henry ands chase were able to demonstrate that most of the P- labeled DNA was transferred into the bacterial cell following adsorption, and the S labeled protein cells remained outside the bacterial cell and was recovered in the phage goats after the blender treatment. Hershey and Chase , along with others who had done related experiments, confirmed that DNA was a biomolecule that carried genetic