Max Delbrück presented the first evidence that bacteria are capable of spontaneous mutation.What is the name of the test that Delbrück used to demonstrate this phenomenon?
A)auxotrophic test
B)lag test
C)fluctuation test
D)prototrophic test
E)logarithmic test

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Max Delbrück used the fluctuation test to demonstrate that bacteria are capable of spontaneous mutation. In this test, individual bacterial cultures are grown from single cells and then plated under conditions where only mutants can grow. The number of mutant colonies that grow is used to calculate the mutation rate. By seeing fluctuation in the number of mutations among the cultures, Delbrück showed that mutations were occurring spontaneously rather than being induced by external factors.

Max Delbrück Presented the First Evidence That Bacteria Are Capable