Fungi black-pigmented

Melanin is a collective term for brown or black pigments. They are condensates of phenolics and are widely distributed in nature, examples of this diverse chemistry being found in animals, plants and fungi. They perform various roles but in some fungi, notably Pyricularia oryzae and Colletotrichum spp., melanin biosynthesis is an essential feature in pathogenicity, the biosynthesis of melanin in appressorial walls being a requirement for the development of infection hyphae and subsequent penetration of the host epidermis. For example, melanin-deficient mutants of P. oryzae are not pathogenic. 

Other frequently encountered, but numerically less prevalent species, include Metchnikowia pulcherrima and its asexual counterpart Candida pul-cherrima, as well as Hansenula anomala, and Pichia membranaefaciens. The weakly fermentative pink (red) yeast, Rhodotarula minuta, is also relatively common. Occassionally, laboratory personnel isolate black yeasts. Black-pigmented fungi [Aureobasidium (Pullularia) pullulans], although yeastlike in appearance, are taxonomically separate (see the section 3.4.2). 

Pigmented conidia from different fungi were exposed to simulated sunlight, and it was shown that black conidia were significantly more stable than were light colored conidia (35). In addition, dry conidia were significantly more resistant to UV than were wetted conidia (35). In addition, differences in UV-B... 

Tyrosiaase occurs in lower animals, especially meal-worms, in many plants, notably clover, potato, and higher fungi. It catalyses the oxidation of the amino acid tyrosine with the production of a red pigment which turns black and becomes insoluble, in which condition it is called melanin. Tyrosinase is believed to function in the formation of natural pigments from tyrosine, and also in the metabolism of the amino acid in lower organisms. 

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