Photosynthetically active radiation the predominance of chlorophyll is autumn, when chlorophyll is degraded (because it contains N and Mg) but the accessory pigments are not (because they only contain C, H and O) and remain in the leaf producing red, yellow and orange leaves. In land plants, leaves absorb mostly red and blue light in the first layer of photosynthetic cells because of Chlorophyll absorbance. Green light, however, penetrates deeper into the leaf interior and can drive photosynthesis more efficiently than red light. Because green and yellow wavelengths can transmit through chlorophyll and the entire leaf itself, they play a crucial role in
Radiotrophic fungus Radiotrophic fungus Radiotrophic fungi are fungi which appear to perform radiosynthesis, that is, to use the pigment melanin to convert gamma radiation into chemical energy for growth. 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 or photosynthesis. However, whether melanin-containing fungi employ a similar multi-step pathway as photosynthesis, or some chemosynthesis pathways, is unknown. Radiotrophic fungi were discovered