What is fission? Explain with example.
Fission may be defined as the splitting of a unicellular organism into two or more separate daughter cells. There are two kinds of fission binary fission and multiple fission.
Binary fission- It is the most common form of reproduction in prokaryotes and occurs in some single-celled eukaryotes. e.g. amoeba. After replicating its nucleus into two, the cell divides into two nearly equal sized daughter cells. Therefore, division of one cell to form two indentical daughter cells is called binary fission.
Multiple fission- This type of reproduction at the cellular level occurs in many protists, e.g. sporozoans and algae. The nucleus of the parent cell divides several times producing several nuclei. The cytoplasm then separates, creating multiple daughter cells, each with one nuclei. Therefore, division of one cell to many identical daughter cells is called multiple fission.