Metarhizium robertsii ARSEF 2575 Genome sequencing. Metarhizium robertsii ARSEF 2575

The insect pathogen Metarhizium is a valuable organism for studying the molecular basis of adaptive evolution. Closely related populations of these fungi have independently specialized to specific hosts, or have become broad spectrum generalists, providing multiple opportunities to study the functional basis for transitions between lifestyles. To examine the mechanisms by which novel pathogens emerge we are sequencing the genomes and transcriptomes of pathogenically distinct Metarhizium strains that will allow hypothesis-driven mechanistic experiments with candidate genes to unravel the genetic circuitry that regulates and executes infection processes, specificity and host switching.