Fission (biology)

In biology, fission is the division of a single entity into two or more parts and the regeneration of those parts into separate entities resembling the original. The object experiencing fission is usually a cell, but the term may also refer to how organisms, bodies, populations, or species split into discrete parts. The fission may be binary fission, in which a single entity produces two parts, or multiple fission, in which a single entity produces multiple parts.

Organisms in the domains of Archaea and Bacteria reproduce with binary fission. This form of asexual reproduction and cell division is also used by some organelles within eukaryotic organisms (e.g., ). Binary fission results in the reproduction of a living prokaryotic cell (or organelle) by dividing the cell into two parts, each with the potential to grow to the size of the original.

Unlike the process of mitosis used by eukaryotic cells, binary fission takes place without the formation of a spindle apparatus in the cell. The single DNA molecule first replicates, then attaches each copy to a different part of the cell membrane. When the cell begins to pull apart, the replicated and original chromosomes are separated. The consequence of this asexual method of reproduction is that all the cells are genetically identical, meaning that they have the same genetic material (barring random mutations).

The process of binary fission in bacteria involves the following steps. First, the cell's DNA is replicated. The replicated DNA copies then move to opposite poles of the cell in an energy-dependent process. The cell lengthens. Then, the equatorial plate of the cell constricts and separates the plasma membrane such that each new cell has exactly the same genetic material.

More specifically, the following steps occur:

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