Radiotrophic fungi are a recent discovery, first seen as black molds growing inside and around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. These fungi appear to use the pigment melanin to convert gamma radiation^[1] into chemical energy for growth.^[2] This proposed mechanism may be similar to anabolic pathways for the synthesis of reduced organic carbon (e.g., carbohydrates) in phototrophic organisms, which capture photons from visible light with pigments such as chlorophyll whose energy is then used in photolysis of water to generate usable chemical energy (as ATP) in photophosphorylation of photosynthesis. However, whether melanin-containing fungi employ a similar multi-step pathway as photosynthesis, or some chemosynthesis pathways, is unknown.