Prokaryotic Reproduction and Binary Fission

Prokaryotic cells reproduce through binary fission, where one cell splits into two.
Before cell division, the bacterial chromosome undergoes replication to ensure each new cell receives a complete DNA copy.

Each bacterial chromosome has an origin of replication, the starting point for self-replication.
The DNA double helix unwinds from the origin in both directions, creating a replication bubble.
The replication bubble consists of two replication forks.
DNA code within the bubble acts as a template strand for the formation of new strands.
The replication bubble expands bidirectionally until the replication forks meet at the opposite end of the chromosome.
Parent strands act as templates for daughter strands.

DNA replication in prokaryotes results in two circular chromosomes.
Each of the 2 resulting chromosomes contain half the original DNA and half new DNA.
This process is termed semi-conservative replication because half of the original DNA is conserved in each offspring cell.

Following chromosome replication, the cell divides into two, with each new cell receiving one copy of the replicated chromosome.