Question

What is meant by R – cells and S – cell with which Frederick Griffith carried out his experiments on Diplococcus pneumonial? What did he prove from these experiments?

Answer 1

R – cells are those bacterial cells that form rough colonies, without a capsule and are non-virulent. S – cells are those cells, that form smooth colonies, with a capsule and are virulent. He proved that virulence of S – cells had some how been transferred into R – cells, which became transformed into S- cells, it is the genetic material that had effected transformation.