Which propey was demonstrated by Griffith with experiments on mice using pneumococcus: (A) Lysogenic conversion, (B) Transduction, (C) Transformation, (D) Conjugation
Answer is C. Transformation is the transfer of genetic information through the agency of free DNA. On repeated subculture, Streptococcus pneumoniae undergo smooth to rough variation. In the R form, the colonies are rough and the cocci are non-capsulated, autoagglutinable and avirulent. R form arises as spontaneous mutants and outgrows the parental S form in aificial culture. In tissues, such R forms are eliminated by phagocytosis Reference: Textbook of Microbiology; Anathanarayan and panicker's; 10th edition; Page no: 59, 226