• 11 parts
  • Checked October 2026

Bacterial Cell Division Diagram

One rod-shaped bacterium becomes two, in four stages.

Bacterial Cell Division Diagram

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. DNA replication
  2. Cell growth (elongation)
  3. Septum formation
  4. Cell separation
  5. Circular chromosome
  6. Origin of replication
  7. Cell wall
  8. Chromosome copies
  9. FtsZ ring
  10. Septum
  11. Daughter cells

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: how a cell with a nucleus divides

All 11 parts on the diagram

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The four stages, in order 4

  1. DNA replication The cell copies its chromosome. Copying starts at the origin of replication.
  2. Cell growth (elongation) The cell grows longer. The two copies of the chromosome move to opposite ends.
  3. Septum formation A ring forms at the middle of the cell. New wall and membrane grow inward there.
  4. Cell separation The septum is complete and the two cells come apart. Each has one chromosome.

Inside the cells 7

  1. Circular chromosome One closed loop of DNA. A bacterium keeps it in the cytoplasm, with no nucleus round it.
  2. Origin of replication The place on the chromosome where copying starts. Each copy has one.
  3. Cell wall The stiff layer round the cell. New wall is made at the middle when the cell divides.
  4. Chromosome copies The two copies of the chromosome. One will go to each new cell.
  5. FtsZ ring A ring of the protein FtsZ at the middle of the cell. It marks where the cell will divide.
  6. Septum New cell wall and membrane growing inward. When it is complete the cell is divided in two.
  7. Daughter cells The two cells made by the division. Each has a copy of the chromosome.

How this list was compiled: Every name and the order of the stages checked on 2026-10-01 against Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Department of Microbiology: Binary Fission and other Forms of Reproduction in Bacteria (https://cals.cornell.edu/microbiology/research/active-research-labs/angert-lab/epulopiscium/binary-fission-and-other-forms-reproduction-bacteria); Alberts and others, Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4th edition, chapter 18, Cytokinesis (NCBI Bookshelf NBK26831, archived copy); Wikipedia: Fission (biology) and FtsZ, text only; and Medical Microbiology, 4th edition, chapter 2 (NCBI Bookshelf NBK8477, archived copy). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

Bacteria divide by binary fission: one cell copies its DNA and splits into two. This drawing follows a rod-shaped bacterium through four stages, from the top down.

Read the full guide

Read the four cells from the top down

First the cell copies its chromosome, a single closed loop of DNA. Copying starts at one spot, the origin of replication. Next the cell grows longer and the two copies move to opposite ends. Then a ring of the protein FtsZ forms at the middle, and new cell wall grows inward there. That new wall is the septum. When the septum is complete, the cell has become two daughter cells, each with one copy of the chromosome.

  • The boxes at the left are the stages; the rings in the cells are the parts.

Questions and answers

What are the steps of binary fission?

The cell copies its DNA, grows longer while the two copies move to opposite ends, builds a septum of new wall across the middle, and separates into two daughter cells.

How is bacterial cell division different from mitosis?

A bacterium has no nucleus to divide. Its single circular chromosome is copied, the two copies move to opposite ends of the cell, and the cell splits between them.

What does the FtsZ ring do?

FtsZ is a protein that forms a ring at the middle of the cell. The other division proteins gather at the ring, and together they guide the inward growth of the new wall.

What is the septum in a dividing bacterium?

The new cell wall and membrane that grow inward across the middle of the cell. When it is complete it divides the cell in two.

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