Send us feedback. Copyright 1999 American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved. Microbial Reproduction One of the reasons microbes have survived and flourished for billions of years is the different ways they reproduce and how fast they do it.
Bacteria usually reproduce by simply dividing in two.
One bacterium reaches out to another using a thread-like structure called a pilus. The first bacterium transfers part of its DNA to the other bacterium through the pilus. By this exchange, bacteria can quickly create or pass along new traits that help them adapt to different environments. Some yeasts, which are a type of fungus, also reproduce through binary fission. Other yeasts reproduce by budding.