Melanin, radiation, and energy transduction in fungi

Melanins are dark pigments that are made by diverse fungi (^{1, 2}). Even fungi that produce white colonies, such as Candida albicans, have the ability to make melanins (^{3, 4}). Melanins have elicited considerable interest in microbial pathogenesis because they are important virulence factors for many pathogenic microbes, and their presence is associated with reduced susceptibility to antifungal drugs (^{5, 6}). Melanins are multifunctional molecules that give cells structural strength as well as reduced susceptibility to temperature extremes, heavy metals, and molecules produced by the immune system such as oxygen- and nitrogen-derived oxidants and microbicidal proteins (^{2, 7 - 10}).