Binary Fission

Information about Binary Fission

Binary fission

Binary fission is the form of asexual reproduction in single-celled organisms by which one cell divides into two cells of the same size, used by most prokaryotes. This process results in the reproduction of a living cell by division into two equal or near-equal parts.

Mitosis is not the same as binary fission.

Genetic effects

Binary fission is asexual; the organism splits directly into two equal -sized offsprings,each with a copy of the parent's genetic material. Binary fission is a common type of reproduction in single-celled organisms.

Bacterial DNA has a relatively high mutation rate. This rapid rate of genetic change is what makes bacteria capable of developing resistance to antibiotics and helps them exploit invasion into a wide range of environments.

Organisms that reproduce through binary fission generally have exponential growth phases. Escherichia coli cells are able to divide every 20 minutes under optimum conditions.

Process

Animation showing the complete process of binary fission.

Binary fission begins with DNA replication. DNA replication starts from an origin of replication, which opens up into a replication bubble (note: prokaryotic DNA replication usually has only 1 origin of replication, whereas eukaryotes have multiple origins of replication). The replication bubble separates the DNA double strand, each strand acts as template for synthesis of a daughter strand by semiconservative replication, until the entire prokaryotic DNA is duplicated.

After this replicational process, cell growth occurs.

Each circular DNA strand then attaches to the cell membrane, sometimes by a mesosome. The cell elongates, causing the two chromosomes to separate.

Cell division in bacteria is controlled by the septal ring, a collection of about a dozen proteins that collect around the site of division. There, they direct assembly of the division septum. ^[1]

The cell membrane then invaginates (grows inwards) and splits the cell into two daughter cells, separated by a newly grown cell plate. This process is called cytokinesis.

Organisms using binary fission

Many organisms reproduce by binary fission, such as:

Bacteria
Archaea, such as Pyrodictium abyssi (an anaerobic thermophile of deep-sea hydrothermal vents)

Some eukaryotes reproduce using binary fission-like methods. Mitosis is thought to derive from binary fission.

References

1. ^ [1]

Asexual reproduction is a form of reproduction which does not involve meiosis, ploidy reduction, or fertilization. Asexual reproduction only takes one parent. A more stringent definition is agamogenesis which refers to reproduction without the fusion of gametes.
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Prokaryotes (IPA: /prəʊˈkæriəʊtiz/) are a group of organisms that lack a cell nucleus (= karyon), or any other membrane-bound organelles.
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mutations are changes to the base pair sequence of the genetic material of an organism. Mutations can be caused by copying errors in the genetic material during cell division, by exposure to ultraviolet or ionizing radiation, chemical mutagens, or viruses, or can occur deliberately
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antibiotic is a chemotherapeutic agent that inhibits or abolishes the growth of micro-organisms, such as bacteria, fungi, or protozoans. The term originally referred to any agent with biological activity against living organisms; however, "antibiotic" now is used to refer to
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In mathematics, exponential growth (or geometric growth) occurs when the growth rate of a function is always proportional to the function's current size. Such growth is said to follow an exponential law (but see also Malthusian growth model).
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E. coli

Binomial name
Escherichia coli
(Migula 1895)
Castellani and Chalmers 1919

Escherichia coli (IPA: [ˌɛ.
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DNA replication is the process of copying a double-stranded DNA molecule. This process is important in all known life forms and the general mechanisms of DNA replication are not the same in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.
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Semiconservative replication describes the method by which DNA is replicated in all known cells. This method of replication was one of three proposed models^[1] of DNA replication:

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Mesosomes are the invaginations of the plasma membrane that can form into vesicles. They are found to be present in both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Mesosomes may play a role in cell wall formation during cell division and/or chromosome replication and distribution
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Figure 1: A representation of a condensed eukaryotic chromosome, as seen during cell division.]] A chromosome is a single large macromolecule of DNA, and constitutes a physically organized form of DNA in a cell.
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Proteins are large organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid residues.
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Invagination means to fold inward or to sheath. In biology, this can refer to a number of processes.

(1) Invagination is the morphogenetic processes by which an embryo takes form, and is the initial step of gastrulation, the massive reorganization of the embryo from a simple
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Cytokinesis is the process whereby the cytoplasm of a single cell is divided to spawn two daughter cells. It usually initiates during the late stages of mitosis, and sometimes meiosis, splitting a binucleate cell in two to ensure that chromosome number is maintained from one
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Bacteria

Phyla

Actinobacteria
Aquificae
Chlamydiae
Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi
Chloroflexi
Chrysiogenetes
Cyanobacteria
Deferribacteres
Deinococcus-Thermus
Dictyoglomi
Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria
Firmicutes
Fusobacteria
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Archaea
Woese, Kandler & Wheelis, 1990

Phyla

Crenarchaeota
Euryarchaeota
Korarchaeota
Nanoarchaeota
ARMAN
The Archaea (
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anaerobic organism is any organism that does not require oxygen for growth.

Obligate anaerobes will die when exposed to atmospheric levels of oxygen.
Facultative anaerobes can use oxygen when it is present.

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thermophile is an organism – a type of extremophile – which thrives at relatively high temperatures, above 45 °C. Many thermophiles are archaea.

Thermophiles are found in various geothermally heated regions of the Earth such as hot springs like those in
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A hydrothermal vent, also called a "black smoker", is a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water issues. Hydrothermal vents are commonly found near volcanically active places, tectonic plates that are moving apart, ocean basins, and hotspots.
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Cell division is a process by which a cell, called the parent cell, divides into two cells, called daughter cells. Cell division is usually a small segment of a larger cell cycle. In meiosis however, a cell is permanently transformed and cannot divide again.
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