Griffith's experiment was one of the first that suggested there was a "factor" that was transferred between different bacteria. In the series of steps of his experiment, what was injected into the mouse in step "c" and what did this prove?

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In Griffith's experiment, killed S strain bacteria were injected into the mouse, and the mouse lived, demonstrating that the lethal factor (or virulence factor) associated with the S strain required live cells to be effective. This step alone, however, primarily showed that the killed S strain bacteria could not cause disease. The broader conclusion about the "factor" working only in live cells comes from the full context of the experiment, including other steps where live R strain took up something from the killed S strain and became virulent.

Griffith's Experiment Was One of the First That Suggested There