How do bacteria reproduce?

Most bacteria reproduce through the process of binary fission. Binary fission is a simple process where a cell must grow to twice its original size and then divide into two daughter cells. In order to reproduce successfully however, the bacterium must divide at the right moment and in the right place. It must give the offspring a complete copy of its genetic material. Before binary fission happens, the cell copies its DNA and segregates those copies to opposite ends of the cell. After this happens, different types of protein responsible for cell division assemble at the division site. FtsZ monomers rearrange into a ring-like structure at the center of the cell as well as other components involved in cell division. Division then occurs, as the cytoplasm is cleaved in two, and a new cell wall is synthesized in many bacteria. The timing and order of the processes are highly regulated.

Some types of bacteria, such as cyanobacterium Stanieria,  have rarer forms of cell division to reproduce. These bacteria grow more than twice their original cell size and use more than one division to produce multiple offspring cells. Some bacterial species also reproduce by budding. Bacteria can also reproduce through sporulation, in which bacteria are also to produce dormant or resting forms to increase their chance of survival under harsh environmental conditions.