Human Heredity 11th Edition by Michael Cummings

Exercise 25

Read the following experiment and interpret the results to form your conclusion. Experimental data: S bacteria were heat killed and cell extracts were isolated. The extracts contained cellular components, including lipids, proteins, DNA, and RNA. The extracts were mixed with live R bacteria and then injected together into mice along with various enzymes (proteases, RNAses, and DNAses). Proteases degrade proteins, RNAses degrade RNA, and DNAses degrade DNA. Based on these results, what is the transforming principle?