The Binary fission reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Binary fission

In biology, binary fission is the asexual reproductive process used by prokaryotes. It begins when the DNA of the cell is duplicated. Duplication of DNA inside cells is called DNA replication. Each circular strand of DNA then attaches to the plasma membrane, which grows inwards and splits the cell into two daughter cells.

Examples of organisms that reproduce by binary fission

• bacteria (for example, Rickettsia species that cause diseases such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever)
• Entamoeba histolytica (a protozoan that is a human intestinal parasite)
• Pyrodictium abyssi, an anaerobic hyperthermophilic archaea of deep-sea Hydrothermal vents.
• Schizosaccharomyces pombe, a fungal organism (yeast)

See also

• cell cycle
• cell division
• cytokinesis
• cell growth

This is the "Binary fission" reference article from the English Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.