identifier: traitmech:000630
label: karyoklepty
definition: A physiological phenotype in which a microbial organism selectively retains
  and uses nuclei acquired from prey.
definition_source: DOI:10.1038/nature05496
trait_category: PHYSIOLOGY
term_kind: CLASS
mapping_status: PROPOSED
parent_traits:
- METPO:1000059
evidence:
- reference: DOI:10.1038/nature05496
  snippet: Cytokinesis, plastid performance and their replication are dependent on
    recurrent stealing of cryptophyte nuclei.
  notes: PMID:17251979. Direct scientific abstract from Europe PMC, cross-checked
    with the publisher abstract. This naming study reports retained, transcriptionally
    active prey nuclei in Myrionecta rubra, a synonym of Mesodinium rubrum. The plastid-related
    dependence is system-specific, not a universal definition requirement. Main text,
    figures and supplements were not accessed; no protein-resolved mechanism is imported.
- reference: DOI:10.1186/s12864-015-2052-9
  snippet: Rather, the ciliate steals the nucleus from cryptophyte prey, a process
    described as karyoklepty
  notes: PMID:26475598, PMC4609049. Direct Background naming passage, not an abstract
    quote or independent terminology experiment. Scientific Abstract and Background
    were read. The abstract reports prey-derived transcription after sequestration;
    expression and annotation are not native protein perturbations. Methods, Results,
    actual figures and supplements were not audited, so no additional canonical strain
    or causal edge is asserted from this study.
- reference: DOI:10.3389/fmicb.2017.00423
  snippet: Well-fed cells of M. rubrum contained additional nuclei of cryptophyte
    origin.
  notes: PMID:28377747, PMC5359308. Direct Results passage. Main text and actual Figures
    2-5 and 9 were inspected; supplements were not. Fixed-cell microscopy documents
    retained central and peripheral prey nuclei during starvation/refeeding. Figure
    9 is an inheritance model with illustrative micrographs, not continuous lineage
    tracking. Carbon fixation correlates with nuclear prevalence; starvation is not
    an isolated nuclear perturbation.
canonical_examples:
- taxon_id: NCBITaxon:704171
  taxon_label: Mesodinium rubrum
  reference: DOI:10.3389/fmicb.2017.00423
  note: 'Qualified example: MBL-DK2009 fed Teleaulax amphioxeia SCCAP K-0434. The
    Cultures Methods at https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00423 document single-cell
    isolation from Helsingor harbor, Denmark, in 2009. Retention is conditional on
    feeding history; do not generalize nuclear inheritance to every strain. NCBI ESearch
    and EFetch independently resolved the species and its Myrionecta rubra synonym
    on 2026-10-05.'
discussions:
- discussion_id: karyoklepty-organismal-scope-and-parent
  prompt: Keep prey-nucleus use distinct from plastid retention and sequence transfer.
  kind: CURATION_TODO
  status: OPEN
  rationale: This physiological trait is not a literal nucleus, nucleomorph or sequence
    feature. Whole living prey/endosymbionts, DNA detection and horizontal transfer
    alone are insufficient. Kleptoplasty traitmech:000629 concerns plastids; phagocytosis
    traitmech:000627 concerns uptake; phagotrophy traitmech:000628 concerns nutrient
    assimilation. Endosymbiosis traitmech:000045 describes a microorganism living
    inside its host, not selective nuclear retention. These overlapping concepts are
    not exact equivalents or established universal parents. Retain phenotype METPO:1000059
    pending a closer acquisition hierarchy. No fixed retention time, nuclear division,
    fusion, host-genome integration or universal photosynthetic role is required.
    No unverified synonym or ontology xref is asserted.
  posed_by: codex
  posed_date: '2026-10-05'
- discussion_id: karyoklepty-control-and-inheritance-mechanism
  prompt: Resolve functional control and inheritance without promoting models to mechanisms.
  kind: KNOWLEDGE_GAP
  status: OPEN
  rationale: The 2017 study discusses strain-dependent alternatives to nuclear division
    and fusion. Its snapshots do not establish a universal inheritance mechanism.
    The 2007 abstract supports transcriptional function, but source-specific retention
    intervals and plastid dependencies are not class restrictions. Protein identities
    and host-control machinery remain unresolved here; no causal graph is asserted
    from transcript abundance, inferred targeting or nuclear enlargement alone.
  posed_by: codex
  posed_date: '2026-10-05'
curation_history:
- timestamp: '2026-10-05T23:36:51Z'
  curator: codex
  action: MINTED_TRAITMECH_ID
  changes: Added karyoklepty with three DOI-backed snippets and a natural, strain-qualified
    Mesodinium example. Ignored-and-hidden searches and pinned METPO review found
    no exact record. Reserved METPO:1058300 in v506. Distinguished prey-nucleus retention/use
    from plastid retention, intact endosymbionts and sequence transfer; deferred unresolved
    control and inheritance mechanisms.
  llm_assisted: true