Species in the filamentous fungal genus Aspergillus display
a wide diversity of lifestyles and are of great importance
to humans. The decoding of genome sequences
from a dozen species that vary widely in their degree of
evolutionary affinity has galvanized studies of the function
and evolution of the Aspergillus genome in clinical,
industrial, and agricultural environments. Here, we synthesize
recent key findings that shed light on the architecture
of the Aspergillus genome, on the molecular
foundations of the genus’ astounding dexterity and diversity
in secondary metabolism, and on the genetic underpinnings
of virulence in Aspergillus fumigatus, one of the
most lethal fungal pathogens. Many of these insights
dramatically expand our knowledge of fungal and microbial
eukaryote genome evolution and function and argue
that Aspergillus constitutes a superb model clade for the
study of functional and comparative genomics.