bacterial binary fission

origin of replication

a region of the bacterial chromosome recognized by replication initiator proteins

comparing binary fission and mitosis

-in both, chromosomes are copied and separated and the cell divides the cytoplasm into two new cells -mechanics and sequence of the processes are different

step 1

bacterium copies dna -copying of dna begins at the origin of replication -as replication continues, the 2 origins move toward opposite ends of the cell and take the newly forming chromosomes with them

step 3

once replication is done, each new chromosome forms a complete circle of dna but the 2 chromosomes may still be tangled together and must disentangle to become totally separate -one separated, the chromosomes go to opposite cell ends and clear the center of the cell for cytoplasm division to occur

initiator proteins

recruit other enzymes to separate dna strands of the chromosome and form a replication bubble -replication complexes copy dna

step 2

replication continues until the entire chromosome is copied and the replication complexes meet at a special site called the terminus of replication

binary fission

the process that bacteria use to carry out cell division -how the bacteria reproduce -some features similar and different to mitosis

septum

membrane pinches inward and a septum, new cell wall, forms, partitioning the bacteria into 2 compartments -the septum splits down the middle and two cells are released and continue their lives