binary fission

• binary fission

  how prokaryotic cells replicate
• step 1

  the circular DNA and plasmids replicate.
• step 2

  cells get bigger and the circular DNA strands move to opposite poles
• step 3

  the cytoplasm divides and new cell walls form
• step 4

  two daughter cells are produced. each daughter cell has one copy of the circular DNA but a varied number of copies of the plasmids
• mean division time

  average amount of time it takes for one bacterial cell to divide into two.