The Hershey-Chase Experiment - Genetics?

Question

How is the Hershey-Chase experiment (the blender experiment) being applied today in the field of genetics and what is the importance of this breakthrough?

Answer 1

Well they covered the importance of the breakthrough, but we use this information in genetic manipulation all the time because we can use that DNA to determine if a baby will have certain viruses and diseases, and we can alter the virus or completely "kill" it so the baby and it's posterity do not have that deficiency.

Answer 2

The Hershey-Chase experiment indicated that DNA, and not protein, was the genetic material of viruses (well, the particular T2 bacteriophage that they used). By tagging DNA with heavy phosphorous and the protein capsule with heavy sulphur, they were able to trace where each molecule went when the virus infected a bacterium. They discovered that the DNA ended up in the bacteria, but the protein did not. Hershey and Chase also did a longer-range experiment using the offspring of the offspring of the original tagged viruses, and found that while almost none of the original protein could be found, 1/3 of the heavy-P-tagged DNA was still present, meaning that DNA was carried over from generation to generation. Because at that point the possiblities for genetic material in (most) organisms had been narrowed down to protein or DNA (and most scientists thought it was protein, as it appeared more varied than DNA), these results indicated that DNA was actually the carrier of hereditary information. This, of course, is now confirmed, and DNA is the basis for nearly all genetics research.

Answer 3

Before the Hershey-Chase experiment, it wasn't completely clear what viruses used for genetic material. Afterward, it was demonstrated that at least some of them used DNA. A rather important thing to know!

Answer 4

maybe for teaching?