Question

If the DNA of a virus is labelled with ³²P and the protein of the virus is labelled ³⁵S, after transduction which molecule (s) would be present inside the bacterial cells called?
A. ³²P only
B. ³⁵S only
C. Both ³⁵S and ³²P
D. Neither molecule would be present inside the cell

Answer 1

Hint: Nucleoproteins generally make up viruses which are genetically contagious non-cellular structures. A virus can't multiply by itself and it has to infect cells in order to utilise the host cell's components to make clones of itself. A virus frequently causes harm to the host organism by killing the host cell in the process.
Complete step-by-step solution:
A virus or other viral vector introduces foreign DNA into a cell through a process known as transduction. For instance, horizontal gene transfer is the viral transmission of DNA from one bacterium to another.
Bacteriophages, a type of virus, can infiltrate bacterial cells and use them as carriers to produce other viruses. Once attached, the bacteriophage releases its genetic material into the bacterial cell. Bacteria treat the viral genetic material as if it were their own, and as a result, they produce more viruses.
If a bacterium is infected with radioactive DNA (³²P) viruses which were reactive due to exposure to radiation, then it indicates that the DNA was the material which was passed from the virus to the bacteria and hence, these were found to be radioactive in nature. Eventually, bacteria which are infected with viruses containing radioactive proteins ³⁵S were found to be non-radioactive. As a result, viral DNA is the genetic material that is distributed from the virus to the bacteria.
Hence, option A is the correct answer.
Note:
A virion is a fully evolved virus particle. The simplest virions or are made up of two fundamental parts that is, a nucleic acid which can either be single or double-stranded RNA or DNA and a protein shell called a capsid. The capsid serves as a shell to protect the viral genome from nucleases and binds the virion to specific receptors on the potential host cell during infection.