Read the given passage and answer the following questions:

The Matthew Meselson and Franklin Stahl experiment was to prove that DNA replicates semiconservative.It was shown first in Escherichia coli and subsequently in higher organisms, such as plants and human cells .The scheme suggested that the two strands would separate and act as a template for the synthesis of new complementary strands. After the completion of replication, each DNA molecule would have one parental and one newly synthesised strand. This scheme was termed as semiconservative DNA replication . Very similar experiments involving use of radioactive thymidine to detect distribution of newly synthesised DNA in the chromosomes was performed on Vicia faba (faba beans) by Taylor and colleagues in 1958. The experiments proved that the DNA in chromosomes also replicate semiconservatively.

What does semiconservative replication mean?

Each new DNA molecule contains one parental and one newly synthesized strand

The correct answer is Option (3) – Each new DNA molecule contains one parental and one newly synthesized strand.

While proposing the double helical structure for DNA, Watson and Crick had immediately proposed a scheme for replication of DNA.  The scheme suggested that the two strands would separate and act as a template for the synthesis of new complementary strands. After the completion of replication, each DNA molecule would have one parental and one newly synthesised strand. This scheme was termed as semiconservative DNA replication.