Avery-MacLeod-McCarty experiment

The Avery-MacLeod-McCarty experiment in 1944 demonstrated that DNA is the genetic material responsible for carrying genetic information. They took bacteria that can cause pneumonia and separated their components. By treating the bacteria with enzymes that destroy proteins and RNA, but not DNA, they found that only when DNA was destroyed did the bacteria lose their ability to transfer genetic information. This showed DNA, not proteins or other molecules, is the substance that carries genetic instructions. Their work provided crucial evidence supporting DNA as the molecule responsible for inheritance.