Step 1:
The bacterium cell must copy its DNA so the new cells will have DNA. DNA or, deoxyribonucleic acid, has all of the information the bacterium will need to survive, so it is important it gets copied. The DNA is tightly wound so it is in a neat package called a chromosome.
Steps 2 and 3:
The bacterium now grows larger. This allows for some separation between the two DNA copies that are inside the cell. A division develops in the middle of the bacterium. This division eventually completely divides the bacterium in half. This is called cytokinesis.
Step 4:
Each cell is now called a daughter cell and they separate.
The steps of binary fission
binary fission
Binary fission results in two identical daughter cells. This is a type of asexual reproduction, or creating genetically identical offspring. If humans were able to reproduce using binary fission, it would look something like this: your mother or father would grow larger, and inside all of his or her DNA would be copied. Eventually your parent would split in half creating an identical clone.
