Griffith's Experiment and the Discovery of Transformation:

- In 1928, Frederick Griffith conducted an experiment on Streptococcus pneumoniae, a bacterium that causes pneumonia in mammals.
- He worked with two strains of the bacteria: a virulent (pathogenic) strain that produced smooth colonies on a growth medium and a non-virulent (non-pathogenic) strain that produced rough colonies.
- Griffith injected mice with each strain separately and found that the mice injected with the virulent strain died, while those injected with the non-virulent strain survived.
- He then mixed heat-killed virulent strain bacteria with live non-virulent strain bacteria and injected the mixture into mice. Surprisingly, the mice died.
- Griffith discovered that something in the dead virulent bacteria had transformed the live non-virulent bacteria into a virulent form. He called this phenomenon transformation.

Importance of Griffith's Experiment:

- Griffith's experiment was significant because it provided the first evidence that genetic material could be transferred between cells.
- It also laid the groundwork for subsequent studies on transformation, which helped researchers understand the nature of genetic material and how it is transferred between cells.

Conclusion:

- Therefore, option C, Griffith, is the correct answer to the question.