Question

Who considered DNA as a “Nuclein”?

(a) James Watson

(b) Friedrich Meischer

(c) Francis Crick

(d) Rosalind Franklin

The question was posed to me in a job interview.

Question is taken from Structure of a Polynucleotide Chain in division Molecular Basis of Inheritance of Biology – Class 12

Answer 1

The correct option is (b) Friedrich Meischer

For explanation I would say: Friedrich Meischer had originally called the DNA to be as the “Nuclein”. He observed DNA to be as an acidic substance found in the nucleus. Since technology hadn’t been developed much in the 1860s, he wasn’t able to fully study about the structure of the DNA and isolate such a long polymer. Later in the 1950s, Rosalind Franklin did an X-Ray diffraction study on the DNA using the X-Ray crystallography method. James Watson and Francis Crick on observing the X-Ray pattern of the DNA molecule, gave the molecular structure of the DNA.