What is the Heshey-Chase experiment ?

Hershey - Chase Experiment (1952) Hershey and Chase conducted their experiments on the T₂ phase, a virus. The phase consists only of a protein shell containing its genetic material. In a first experiment, they labelled the DNA of phages with radioactive phosphorus - 32 (the element phosphorus is present in DNA but not present in any of the 20 amino acids from which proteins are made). They allowed the phages to infect E.coli, then removed the protein shells from the infected cells with a blender and separated the cells and viral coats by using a centrifuge. They found that the radioactive tracer was visible only in the pellet of bacterial cells and not in the supernatant containing the protein shells. In a second experiment, they labelled the phages with radioactive Sulfur-35 After separation, the radioactive tracer then was found in the protein shells, but not in the infected bacteria, supporting the hypothesis that the genetic material which infects the bacteria is DNA.