Question

In the Avery experiment, when the dead strain of dangerous bacteria turn the non dangerous strain of bacteria dangerous. I learned it had something to do with bacteriophage, but wouldn't just just make new bacteriophage? Why would that make them into the dangerous bacteria?

Answer 1

The heat killed the proteins from the harmful bacteria but left its DNA intact, a process known as transformation then occured to have the harmless bacteria intake a part of the harmful bacteria and then contaminate and kill the mice

Answer 2

So like capsids I believe they're called? I didn't know a dead bacteria could produce that, but that idea had occurred to me.

Answer 3

in the Avery experiment there are no phages involved - only DNA. The Hershey-Chase experiment involves bacteriophages.

Answer 4

This process occurs most often in bacteria with plasmids, independent DNA fragments which can replicate apart from the chromosomes