In the late 1950s, Herbert Taylor grew bean root-tip cells in a solution of radioactive thymidine (a precursor to one of the deoxyribonucleotides in DNA) and allowed them to undergo one round of DNA replication. He then transferred the cells to a solution without radioactive thymidine, allowed them to replicate again, and examined their chromosomes for the presence of radioactivity. His results are shown in the following figure, where red indicates a radioactive chromatid. (b) What would the results of Taylor's experiment be if eukaryotes used a conservative mode of DNA replication?

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the concept of DNA replication. In eukaryotes, DNA replication is semi-conservative. This means that each new DNA molecule consists of one old (parental) strand and one new (daughter) strand. This was proven by the Meselson-Stahl experiment.
2. Step 2: Understand the concept of conservative DNA replication. In conservative replication, the original DNA molecule serves as a template for the synthesis of a completely new molecule. The original molecule is conserved, and the new molecule consists of two newly synthesized strands.
3. Step 3: Understand the experiment. Taylor's experiment involved growing bean root-tip cells in a solution of radioactive thymidine, which is incorporated into newly synthesized DNA. After one round of replication, the cells were transferred to a non-radioactive solution and allowed to replicate again. The chromosomes were then examined for radioactivity.
4. Step 4: Interpret the results. If eukaryotes used a conservative mode of DNA replication, after the first round of replication, there would be one completely radioactive DNA molecule (the original) and one completely non-radioactive molecule (the newly synthesized one). After the second round of replication, there would still be one completely radioactive molecule, one completely non-radioactive molecule, and two molecules with non-radioactive strands only.
5. Step 5: Conclude the results. Therefore, if eukaryotes used a conservative mode of DNA replication, after two rounds of replication in Taylor's experiment, half of the DNA molecules (the original ones) would be completely radioactive, and the other half would be completely non-radioactive.