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how is binary fission different from multiple fission ?
Binary Fission
Binary fission involves mitosis only and hence the resultant individuals are genetically identical to each other and to the parent.
It is the simplest and most common method of asexual reproduction. The whole parental body acts as the reproductive unit. The nucleus of the unicellular parent organism divides into two. This is followed by the division of the cytoplasm and 2 daughter cells of almost equal size are formed. The daughter cells grow in size and then divide again.

Examples: Seen in euglena, amoeba, paramoecium.

Multiple Fission
In some organismsthe nucleus of the parent divides into many daughter nuclei by repeated divisions (amitosis). This is followed by the division of the cytoplasm into several parts with each part enclosing one nucleus. So a number of daughter cells are formed from a single parent at the same time. This kind of fission is known as multiple fission.
Example: Seen in Plasmodium (malarial parasite) where it is known as schizogony or sporulation, amoeba.


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