Editing Diatom (section)

===Reproduction and cell size===
Reproduction among these organisms is asexual by [[binary fission]], during which the diatom divides into two parts, producing two "new" diatoms with identical genes. Each new organism receives one of the two [[frustule]]s – one larger, the other smaller – possessed by the parent, which is now called the [[Frustule#Thecae|epitheca]]; and is used to construct a second, smaller frustule, the [[Frustule#Thecae|hypotheca]]. The diatom that received the larger frustule becomes the same size as its parent, but the diatom that received the smaller frustule remains smaller than its parent. This causes the average cell size of this diatom population to decrease.<ref name="HasleSyvertsen1996" /> It has been observed, however, that certain taxa have the ability to divide without causing a reduction in cell size.<ref name="Werner1977">{{cite book|author=G. Drebes|editor=Dietrich Werner|title=The Biology of Diatoms|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A4GBA7rlAroC|access-date=14 November 2013|volume=13|series=Botanical Monographs|date=1 January 1977|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-03400-6|pages=250–283|chapter=Chapter 9: Sexuality|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801020328/https://books.google.com/books?id=A4GBA7rlAroC|url-status=live}}</ref> Nonetheless, in order to restore the cell size of a diatom population for those that do endure size reduction, sexual reproduction and [[auxospore]] formation must occur.<ref name="HasleSyvertsen1996" />