Bacterial Reproduction by Binary Fission

When bacteria reach a certain size they often reproduce asexually by Binary Fission. Asexual reproduction requires only one parent cell and happens very quickly in bacteria. One bacterial cell can divide every 20 minutes. The offspring produced are genetically identical to the parent cell. There is no variation among the individuals and they are sometimes referred to as clones.

Bacteria can also reproduce by sexual reproduction, but this is less common.

Benefits of Binary Fission for Bacteria

There are four main benefits of binary fission for bacteria:

1. There is not need to waste time and energy mating because only one parent is needed.

2. Binary fission is a very quick process, so bacteria can reproduce very quickly.

3. Daughter cells are genetically identical, so they will have the same characteristics as the parent cells.

4. Bacterial cultures can grow very quickly because reproduction by binary fission is very quick.

Drawback of Binary Fission for Bacteria

The lack of any genetic variation means that the species will not survive a major change in the environment (or disease or drug). The whole bacterial population could become extinct. There is then no chance of evolution.