3.13 - Binary Fission

Question 1

Optimal growth conditions for bacteria

Answer 1

• temperature - faster replication in warm temperatures
• moisture - faster replication in moist conditions
• nutrients - faster replication requires ample nutrients

Question 2

Calculating bacterial population

Question 3

Steps of binary fission (5):

Answer 3

1. Cell growth- The cell increases in size to prepare for division.
2. DNA replication- The circular chromosome is replicated once, and plasmids may be replicated multiple times.
3. Movement of DNA- Each replicated circular chromosome moves to opposite poles of the cell, and plasmids are distributed randomly between the two poles.
4. Cell wall growth- The cell-surface membrane starts to divide and new cell walls form between the two DNA molecules.
5. Cytoplasm division- The cytoplasm of the original cell is divided into two identical daughter cells.