The growth of prokaryotes is linked to reproduction by cell division. After growing to a fixed size, prokaryotes begin to reproduce asexually through a process known as binary fission. In asexual reproduction, a single cell can produce twin identical daughter cells after dividing. Binary fission leads to the production of millions of other identical cells. When nutrients are available, prokaryotes grow and divide quickly, and others bacterial populations double as rapidly as every twenty minutes (Den Blaauwen, 2013). Besides, other prokaryotes may form a complex reproductive structure that facilitates the disposal of a newly divided daughter cell. Subsequently, prokaryotes can grow through other genetic transfer methods like conjugation, transformation, and transduction.
On the other hand, the growth and reproduction of eukaryotes are influenced by division of two cells, mitosis, and meiosis. Mitosis facilities the production of new body cells for healing and growth, whereas meiosis allows for the production of sex cells (Mclntosh, 2016). During mitosis, a single cell divides to form two similar daughter cells. The mitosis process has five critical phases; interphase is the initial stage where microtubules extend from the centrosomes. Prophase is the second stage where chromosomes thicken and coil. Metaphase is the third stage where chromosomes align in a theoretical line to ensure that sister chromatids split equally between the daughter cells. In anaphase, chromatids become pulled to the opposite cell ends. The process finalizes in the telophase, where mitotic spindles and chromosomes decondense.
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Viruses, however, do not grow through cell division like the prokaryotes and eukaryotes because they are acellular. As a result, viruses incorporate the metabolism and machinery of a host cell to develop other copies of themselves. They replicate in two major processes, lytic and lysogenic cycle. During the lytic cycle, the viruses inject their DNA and replicate after attaching themselves to the host cell. The lysogenic cycle also involves the incorporation of viruses' DNA to the cells of the hoist so that they may become replicate.
References
Den Blaauwen, T. (2013). Prokaryotic Cell Division: Flexible and Diverse. Current Opinion in Microbiology , 16(6), 738-744. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mib.2013.09.002
Mclntosh, J. R. (2016). Mitosis. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology , 8(9), a02218. https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a023218
