Summary:
- Binary fission is a type of asexual reproduction.
- It occurs when a parent cell splits into two identical daughter cells.
- This can result in very rapid population growth.
- Under ideal conditions, bacterial populations can double every 20 minutes.
- Lack of genetic variation increases the risk of extinction.
- Without variety, there may be no organisms that can survive a major change in the environment.
- Prokaryotes have a different way to increase genetic variation.
- This is called genetic transfer or bacterial conjugation.
- Genetic transfer makes bacteria very useful in biotechnology.