The difficult-to-cultivate katablepharid Hatena arenicola ingests green algae, Nephroselmis spp., and temporarily retains a Nephroselmis-derived cell compartment (kleptochloroplast), including a chloroplast within a phagocytotic vacuole. H. arenicola has a unique life history; during cell division, the Nephroselmis-derived cell compartment is only inherited by one of two daughter cells. However, the detailed morphological transition of the Nephroselmis cell to a kleptochloroplast and the mitotic process of the host cell remain unclear. Herein, we observed feeding behavior, enlargement of the Nephroselmis-derived chloroplast, and mitotic processes in H. arenicola using light and electron microscopy. During feeding behavior, H. arenicola peeled off the cell coverings and flagella of the Nephroselmis cell, which selectively accumulated in a vacuole separate to one containing a Nephroselmis cell body. An obvious nucleolus, but no heterochromatin was observed in the Nephroselmis-derived nucleus during the chloroplast-enlarging process, while compressed heterochromatin was explicitly observed in the nuclei of free-living Nephroselmis cells. The cell membrane of an ingested Nephroselmis cell disintegrated during enlargement of the Nephroselmis-derived chloroplast. The process of mitosis in H. arenicola was very similar to that of other katablepharids and cryptophytes.

难以培养的 katablepharid Hatena arenicola摄入绿藻Nephroselmis spp.，并暂时保留肾藻衍生的细胞区室（盗叶绿体），包括吞噬液泡内的叶绿体。H. arenicola具有独特的生活史；在细胞分裂期间，源自肾肾细胞的细胞区室仅由两个子细胞之一继承。然而，肾肾细胞向盗叶绿体的详细形态转变和宿主细胞的有丝分裂过程仍不清楚。在此，我们使用光学和电子显微镜观察了H. arenicola的摄食行为、肾肾衍生叶绿体的增大和有丝分裂过程。在摄食行为过程中，H. arenicola剥落肾丝细胞的细胞覆盖物和鞭毛，选择性地积累在与含有肾丝细胞体的液泡分开的液泡中。在叶绿体增大过程中，肾细胞来源的细胞核中观察到明显的核仁，但没有观察到异染色质，而在自由生活的肾细胞细胞核中明显观察到压缩的异染色质。摄入的肾藻细胞的细胞膜在源自肾藻的叶绿体增大期间崩解。H有丝分裂的过程。arenicola与其他 katablepharids 和 cryptophytes 非常相似。