Why do variations in generation time exist among different species of microorganisms and within a single microbial species?
by 
tsqmia
ANSWERS: 1
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You're asking about the mystery of biological aging -- spanning the range from unicellular microbes to large multi-cellular organisms. Exactly how cells are programmed to die after a period of time (seen in bacteria, trees, people, etc.) is unknown -- but plenty of active, ongoing research. Large animals are capable of bearing only a few offspring at a time, so their generation length may last several reproductive cycles. Insects, to pick a contrasting example, typically lay thousands of eggs after mating so the reproductive adult forms don't need to stick around long after -- they're usually dead before the eggs hatch. E. coli bacteria reproduce (split) in about 20 minutes -- given sufficient nutrients. Generation time is probably as diverse as life itself.
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