Read the passage and answer the following questions :

Tha 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.

Which of the following was the first genetic material?

RNA

The correct answer is Option (3) –RNA

RNA was the first genetic material. There is now enough evidence to suggest that essential life processes (such as metabolism, translation, splicing, etc.), evolved around RNA. RNA used to act as a genetic material as well as a catalyst (there are some important biochemical reactions in living systems that are catalysed by RNA catalysts and not by protein enzymes).