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{{Main|Bacteria}}
[[File:Staphylococcus aureus 01.jpg|thumb|''[[Staphylococcus aureus]]'' bacteria magnified about 10,000x]]
Their [[genome]] is usually a [[circular bacterial chromosome]] – a single loop of [[DNA]], although they can also harbor small pieces of DNA called [[plasmid]]s. These plasmids can be transferred between cells through [[bacterial conjugation]]. Bacteria have an enclosing [[Bacterial cell structure#Cell wall|cell wall]], which provides strength and rigidity to their cells. They reproduce by [[binary fission]] or sometimes by [[budding]], but do not undergo [[Meiosis|meiotic]] [[sexual reproduction]]. However, many bacterial species can transfer DNA between individual cells by a [[horizontal gene transfer]] process referred to as natural [[Transformation (genetics)|transformation]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Johnsbor, O. |author2=Eldholm, V. |author3=Håvarstein, L.S. |title=Natural genetic transformation: prevalence, mechanisms and function |journal=Res. Microbiol. |volume=158 |issue=10 |pages=767–78 |date=December 2007 |pmid=17997281 |doi=10.1016/j.resmic.2007.09.004 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Some species form extraordinarily resilient [[endospore|spores]], but for bacteria this is a mechanism for survival, not reproduction. Under optimal conditions bacteria can grow extremely rapidly and their numbers can double as quickly as every 20 minutes.<ref>{{Cite journal| author=Eagon, R. | title=Pseudomonas Natriegens, a Marine Bacterium With a Generation Time of Less Than 10 Minutes | journal=J Bacteriol | volume=83 | issue=4| pages=736–7 | year =1962 | pmid=13888946 | pmc=279347| doi=10.1128/JB.83.4.736-737.1962 }}</ref>
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