The genus Metarhizium and Pochonia chlamydosporia comprise a monophyletic clade of highly abundant globally distributed fungi that can transition between long-term beneficial associations with plants to transitory pathogenic associations with frequently encountered protozoans, nematodes or insects. Some very common ‘specialist generalist’ species are adapted to particular soil and plant ecologies, but can overpower a wide spectrum of insects with numerous enzymes and toxins that result from extensive gene duplications made possible by loss of meiosis and associated genome defence mechanisms. These species use parasexuality instead of sex to combine beneficial mutations from separate clonal individuals into one genome (Vicar of Bray dynamics). More weakly endophytic species which kill a narrow range of insects retain sexuality to facilitate host–pathogen coevolution (Red Queen dynamics). Metarhizium species can fit into numerous environments because they are very flexible at the genetic, physiological and ecological levels, providing tractable models to address how new mechanisms for econutritional heterogeneity, host switching and virulence are acquired and relate to diverse sexual life histories and speciation. Many new molecules and functions have been discovered that underpin Metarhizium associations, and have furthered our understanding of the crucial ecology of these fungi in multiple habitats.

绿僵菌属和Pochonia chlamydosporia包括高度丰富的全球分布真菌的单系进化枝，可以在与植物的长期有益关联之间转换为与经常遇到的原生动物、线虫或昆虫的短暂致病关联。一些非常常见的“专业通才”物种适应特定的土壤和植物生态，但可以通过大量的酶和毒素压倒范围广泛的昆虫，这些酶和毒素是由于减数分裂和相关基因组防御机制的丧失而导致的广泛基因复制。这些物种使用准性行为而不是性行为将来自不同克隆个体的有益突变组合到一个基因组中（布雷动力学牧师）。杀死小范围昆虫的更弱的内生物种保留了性，以促进宿主 - 病原体共同进化（红皇后动力学）。绿僵菌物种可以适应多种环境，因为它们在遗传、生理和生态水平上非常灵活，提供了易于处理的模型来解决如何获得生态营养异质性、宿主转换和毒力的新机制，并与不同的性生活史和物种形成相关。已经发现了许多支持绿僵菌关联的新分子和功能，并加深了我们对这些真菌在多个栖息地中的关键生态学的理解。