Budding versus Binary Fission 
Elio Schaechter of Small Things Considered asks if there is an evolutionary advantage for budding, where cell division is asymmetrical (yeast is an example), over binary fission, asexual reproduction by cell division?
Snippet:
"Binary fission is a most impressive invention. In one fell swoop, it ensures that progeny cells are born alike and endowed with the same potential for growth and survival. Simple as it sounds, it must have taken considerable evolutionary contortions to make it function so well throughout the living world. But there are cells that have adopted an alternative mechanism, where cell division is asymmetrical, where one progeny cell is made from a “mother cell” that keeps generating “babies.” The best known example is, of course, budding in yeast. But other cells also arise in this fashion, including some bacteria, the sexual spores of mushrooms, and even some plant cells.
So, is there an advantage to bypassing binary fission and budding instead?"
Snippet:
"Binary fission is a most impressive invention. In one fell swoop, it ensures that progeny cells are born alike and endowed with the same potential for growth and survival. Simple as it sounds, it must have taken considerable evolutionary contortions to make it function so well throughout the living world. But there are cells that have adopted an alternative mechanism, where cell division is asymmetrical, where one progeny cell is made from a “mother cell” that keeps generating “babies.” The best known example is, of course, budding in yeast. But other cells also arise in this fashion, including some bacteria, the sexual spores of mushrooms, and even some plant cells.
So, is there an advantage to bypassing binary fission and budding instead?"
