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An enduring theme in pathogenic microbiology is poor understanding of the mechanisms of host specificity.  Metarhizium  is a cosmopolitan genus of invertebrate pathogens that contains generalist species with broad host ranges such as  M. robertsii  (formerly known as  M. anisopliae  var.  anisopliae ) as well as specialists such as the acridid-specific grasshopper pathogen  M. acridum . During growth on caterpillar ( Manduca sexta ) cuticle,  M. robertsii  up-regulates a gene ( Mest1 ) that is absent in  M. acridum  and most other fungi. Disrupting  M. robertsii Mest1  reduced virulence and overexpression increased virulence to caterpillars ( Galleria mellonella  and  M. sexta ), while virulence to grasshoppers ( Melanoplus femurrubrum ) was unaffected. When  Mest1  was transferred to  M. acridum  under control of its native  M. robertsii  promoter, the transformants killed and colonized caterpillars in a similar fashion to  M. robertsii . MEST1 localized exclusively to lipid droplets in  M. robertsii  conidia and infection structures was up-regulated during nutrient deprivation and had esterase activity against lipids with short chain fatty acids. The mobilization of stored lipids was delayed in the  Mest1  disruptant mutant. Overall, our results suggest that expression of  Mest1  allows rapid hydrolysis of stored lipids, and promotes germination and infection structure formation by  M. robertsii  during nutrient deprivation and invasion, while  Mest1  expression in  M. acridum  broadens its host range by bypassing the regulatory signals found on natural hosts that trigger the mobilization of endogenous nutrient reserves. This study suggests that speciation in an insect pathogen could potentially be driven by host shifts resulting from changes in a single gene.

Insertion of an Esterase Gene into a Specific Locust Pathogen (Metarhizium acridum) Enables It to Infect Caterpillars