- Enzymes such as trypsin and chymotrypsin, known to break down proteins, had no effect on the transforming substance
- Ribonuclease, an enzyme that destroys RNA, also had no effect Enzymes capable of destroying DNA, however, eliminated the biological activity of the transforming substance
- **Avery,** MacLeod, and McCarty showed that purified transforming substance precipitated at about the same rate as purified DNA and that it absorbed ultraviolet light at the same wavelengths as does DNA
![image](/subject-images/iitpal/image/biology-class-12-unit-06-chapter-04-genetics-and-evolution-molecular-basis-of-inheritance-l-4_12-a85lm20rcag-049-1359.6.jpg)