Question

Bacteria undergo an asexual process of cell splitting called binary fission. This process is genetically similar to__.

Answer 1

The answer is mitosis.

Binary fission is a type of cell division characteristic of unicellular organisms . There are 4 steps in binary fission:
Step 1 Genetic material duplicates.

Step 2 Cell grows in size and other organelles duplicate.

Step 3 Cell wall or membrane forms.

Step 4 Cells separate into two new cells.

Mitosis is a process cell division, where one cell divides into two identical cells. Mitosis consists of four phases:

1. Prophase: Chromatin in the nucleus condenses and chromosomes pair up.

2. Metaphase: Chromosomes line up at the centre of the cell.

3. Anaphase: The sister chromatids separate from each other to the opposite sides of the cells.

4. Telophase and Cytokinesis: Membrane forms around each set of chromosomes on two opposite sides of the cells and cell divides into two identical daughter cells.

As can be seen, some steps are similar. And the end products in both cases are new cells. In mitosis, however, new cells are part of a multicellular organism while in binary fission, new cells represent new organisms.