A type of fungus can devour radiation and convert it to fuel, researchers say in a study that may offer applications from more efficient solar cells to feeding astronauts in space.

The researchers report their study in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS ONE.

Dark-coloured fungi use the same compound as people do, melanin, the pigment that makes both skin and truffles dark.

"Just as the pigment chlorophyll converts sunlight into chemical energy that allows green plants to live and grow, our research suggests that melanin can use a different portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, ionising radiation," says Dr Ekaterina Dadachova of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

Dr Arturo Casadevall, chair of microbiology and immunology at the college, says there may be further implications.

"It's pure speculation but not outside the realm of possibility that melanin could be providing energy to skin cells," he says.