Final answer:
In bacterial cells, DNA replication is a rapid process completing within approximately 42 minutes, whereas division encompasses several steps and, though rapid, typically takes longer due to the processes of cell elongation and septum formation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Division generally takes longer than genome duplication in bacterial cells. DNA replication in bacteria, such as E. coli, is extraordinarily rapid, occurring at a rate of about 1000 nucleotides per second and completing within approximately 42 minutes for a genome size of 4.6 million base pairs. This process is known as semiconservative bidirectional replication from a single origin. Bacteria exhibit a simplified cell division process termed binary fission, which is less complex compared to eukaryotic cell division. This is partly because they have a single, circular DNA chromosome and lack a nucleus, making mitosis or karyokinesis unnecessary.
On the other hand, bacterial cell division, which involves cytoplasm division and distribution of replicated DNA into daughter cells, although rapid, is a more involved process that includes elongation of the cell and septum formation. Due to the continuous nature of the bacterial life cycle, DNA replication occurs simultaneously with cell growth and binary fission, unlike in eukaryotic cells where DNA replication and cell division are more distinct phases within the cell cycle. Given the relative complexity and involvement required for binary fission compared with the speed and efficiency of bacterial DNA replication, replication itself is completed faster than the process of cell division.