Avery built on Griffith’s work and concluded that DNA was the transformative agent that stored and transmitted genetic information between bacterial generations. But not all scientists were convinced. Hershey and Chase designed a confirming experiment using bacteriophages, which reproduce by injecting their genetic material into bacterial hosts. Hershey and Chase used unique radioactive tags: 35S was used to tag the phage’s outer protein coat and 32P was used to tag their DNA core. Then the phages were allowed to infect bacteria.
