Question

Explain the biological significance of Griffith's experiment with R and S strains of S. pneumoniae.

Answer 1

Griffith's experiment, reported in 1928 by Frederick Griffith, was the first experiment suggesting that bacteria are capable of transferring genetic information through a process known as transformation.Griffith's findings were followed by research in the late 1930s and early 40s that isolated DNA as the material that communicated this genetic information. Before his experiment, scientists believed that bacteria were fixed and unchangeable. The knowledge that bacteria can change has helped scientists in many different ways. Most importantly, it has helped researchers and scientists in the medical community discover how to create more efficient antibiotics to treat bacterial infections. Transformation can help scientists find new treatments for these strains of bacteria that won't respond to medicines we currently have and use.