Step 1: Griffith’s experiment (1928).
Griffith performed experiments with virulent (smooth, S-type) and non-virulent (rough, R-type) strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Step 2: Key observation.
When heat-killed S strain was mixed with live R strain, the R strain transformed into a virulent form. This provided the first evidence of “gene transfer” through transformation.
Step 3: Later confirmation.
Avery, MacLeod, and McCarty (1944) later confirmed DNA as the genetic material responsible for this transformation.
Final Answer:
\[
\boxed{\text{Frederick Griffith in Streptococcus pneumoniae (1928).}}
\]