Question

Explain Binary fission in Amoeba.

Answer 1

Hint: Amoeba is a single-celled organism, belonging to the kingdom Protista. It is a unicellular eukaryote. It has a well-defined nucleus in the cell. It reproduces asexually.

Complete answer:
The mode of reproduction in Amoeba is Binary fission. The process is an example of asexual reproduction. It is a process by which a parent cell gets divided equally to form two daughter cells. During this process, the nucleus of the parent cell lengthens and stretches. The elongated nucleus divides into two, the method is known as karyokinesis. Later the cytoplasm of the parent cells starts dividing, forming a ridge. These later forms two identical daughter amoebic cells.

During the process of binary fission, there are mainly four steps. The first step is the Replication of the DNA and the amount of genetic material doubles. The second step is cell growth, where the cytoplasmic content increases, the amount and size of organelles also increases. The next step is DNA segregation, where the cell elongates by producing a furrow at the center. The chromosomes separate. Finally, the cells are split forming two daughter cells that are identical to the parent cell.

Figure: Binary fission in Amoeba
Note:There are four different types of binary fission, depending on the differences in the plane of division. These are longitudinal binary fission, oblique binary fission, simple binary fission, and transverse binary fission. It is the most common method of reproduction among prokaryotic organisms and certain eukaryotes as well.