Question

Who proved experimentally that DNA is genetic material?

• A. O. Avery and Colleagues
• B. G. Mendel
• C. J. Waston and F. Crick
• D. W. Arber and Colleagues

Answer 1

The correct option is A O. Avery and Colleagues

Part 1: O. Avery and Colleagues
● Once the presence of a transforming principle was proved by Griffith’s transformation experiments, Avery, Macleod and McCarty performed transformation experiments using biomolecules such as DNA, RNA and proteins.
● Their aim was to identify the chemical nature of the transforming principle.
● They found that transformation occurred only in the presence of DNA showing that the transforming principle is DNA.
● Thus, they proved experimentally that DNA is the genetic material that transfers genetic information.

Part 2: J. Waston and F. Crick
James D. Watson along with Francis Crick proposed the double stranded helical model of DNA in $1953$.

Part 3: W. Arber and Colleagues
Gregor Mendel performed cross hybridisation experiments on the garden pea plant, Pisum sativum, and proposed the laws of inheritance of characters based on his observations.

Final answer
(a) O. Avery and Colleagues