Transferring endosymbiotic bacteria between different host species can perturb the coordinated regulation of the host and bacterial genomes. Here we use the most common maternally transmitted bacteria, Wolbachia pipientis, to test the consequences of host genetic background on infection densities and the processes underlying those changes in the parasitoid wasp genus Nasonia. Introgressing the genome of Nasonia giraulti into the infected cytoplasm of N. vitripennis causes a two-order-of-magnitude increase in bacterial loads in adults and a proliferation of the infection to somatic tissues. The host effect on W. pipientis distribution and densities is associated with a twofold decrease in densities of the temperate phage WO-B. Returning the bacteria from the new host species back to the resident host species restores the bacteria and phage to their native densities. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report a hostmicrobe genetic interaction that affects the densities of both W. pipientis and bacteriophage WO-B. The consequences of the increased bacterial density include a reduction in fecundity, an increase in levels of cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), and unexpectedly, male-to-female transfer of the bacteria to uninfected females and an increased acceptance of densely infected females to interspecific mates. While paternal inheritance of the W. pipientis was not observed, the high incidence of male-to-female transfer in the introgressed background raises the possibility that paternal transmission could be more likely in hybrids where paternal leakage of other cytoplasmic elements is also known to occur. Taken together, these results establish a major change in W. pipientis densities and tissue tropism between closely related species and support a model in which phage WO, Wolbachia, and arthropods form a tripartite symbiotic association in which all three are integral to understanding the biology of this widespread endosymbiosis.

There has been new interest in using the thio(seleno)pnictide anion as a building block in the preparation of new metalphosphate-like materials (see for example refs 1-6). Indeed, explorations of the rich chemistry of the MPS3 layered solids has produced some unique selenophosphates such as CuCrP2-See•7 Very recent advances in the preparation of chalcopnictide materials include the early-transition metal chemistry of Tremel (K4Ti2P6S25, KVP2S7, K3V2P3SI2, K3Ti2P5Sl8, K2VP2S78), the supercritical fluid chemistry of Kolis (KCu2AsS3, KCU4ASS4,9 Tl3AgSbS4, Rb2AgSbS4, Cs3Ag2Sb3S8, Cs2Ag3Sb3S7, and Cs2-AgsSbgSu, built from anions such as (Sbi2Se2o),10 (P2Ses2-),n (PSe4-PSe2)12), Brockner's synthesis and vibrational analyses (Pb2P2Se6,13 PrPS4,14 K2Mn(Fe)P2S6,15•16 CuHgPS4,17 TlSnPS4,18 Hg2P2Se6,19 Tl4P2Se6,20 and Eu2P2S6, the first rare-earth thiodiphosphate(IV)21 ), and the molten thiophosphate chemistry of Kanatzidis (KMP2Se6 (Sb, Bi),22 Cs8M4(P2Se6)5 (Sb, Bi),23 ABiP2S7 (K, Rb),24 A2MP2Se6 (Mn, Fe), A2M2P2Se6 (Cu, Ag),25(1) Zagler, R. Darstellung und Strukturchemie von Chalkogenido-Polyanionen und Chalkogenidoindaten, -germanaten, -stannaten, arsenaten, -antimonaten bzw. -telluraten mit kompexierten und nicht komplexierten Kationen. Dr.-Ing. Thesis, Technischen Hochschule Darmstadt, 1988.

Two polytypes of potassium rare-earth-metal hexaselenodiphosphates(IV), K(RE)P(2)Se(6) (RE = Y, La, Ce, Pr, Gd), have been synthesized from the stoichiometric reaction of RE, P, Se, and K(2)Se(4) at 750 degrees C. Both single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction analyses showed that the structures of these polytypes vary with the size of the rare earth metals. For the smaller rare-earth metals, Y and Gd, K(RE)P(2)Se(6) crystallized in the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1). The yttrium compound was studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction with the cell parameters a = 6.7366(5) Å, b = 7.4286(6) Å, c = 21.603(2) Å, and Z = 4. This structure type comprises a layered, square network of yttrium atoms that are bound to four distinct [P(2)Se(6)](4)(-) units through selenium bonding. Each [P(2)Se(6)](4)(-) unit possesses a Se atom that is not bound to any Y atom but is pointing out into the interlayer spacing, into an environment of potassium cations. For larger rare-earth metals, La, Ce, and Pr, K(RE)P(2)Se(6) crystallized in a second, monoclinic polytype, the structure of which has been published. Both of these two different polytypes can be related to each other and several other isoelectronic chalcophosphate structures based on a Parthé valence electron concentration analysis. These structures include Ag(4)P(2)S(6), K(2)FeP(2)S(6), and the hexagonal M(II)PS(3) structure types. The magnetic susceptibilities of the title compounds have been studied, and the behavior can been explained based on a simple set of unpaired f-electrons. The diffuse reflectance spectroscopy also showed that these yellow plates are moderately wide band gap ( approximately 2.75 eV) semiconductors.

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