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Why are cell reproduction and organism reproduction the same in bacteria?
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Reproduction
Fungi produce billions of spores that give rise to new generations of fungi.
In bacteria, cell reproduction and organism reproduction are considered synonymous because the cell itself constitutes the entire organism.1
Because these organisms are unicellular, the process of cell division—most commonly occurring through binary fission—directly results in the creation of new individual organisms. During this process, the parent cell grows in volume and divides into two identical daughter cells, each of which functions as a new, independent organism. Unlike multicellular organisms, where reproduction involves specialized cells or complex developmental stages, the bacterial life cycle is defined by this singular act of cellular replication.21