Morphological plasticity, incrustation of the cell wall with melanins and presence of other protective substances like carotenoids and mycosporines[6] represent passive physiological adaptations which enable black fungi to be highly resistant against environmental stresses.
Many representatives of this group can colonize bare rocks, e.g. in the Mediterranean basin or in hot and cold dry deserts, and are therefore referred to as rock-inhabiting fungi,[10][11] or occur in salterns.
[20] In recent years, black fungi such as E. dermatitidis or Hortaea werneckii have attracted increasingly attention as model microorganisms in studies on astrobiology,[21] bioremediation of polluted ecosystems by biofiltration,[22] effect of ionizing radiation in contaminated areas,[23][24] biodeterioration of materials,[25][26] and mechanisms of adaptation to high salt concentrations.
[12] A collaborative effort coordinated by the Broad Institute is currently ongoing to sequence the genomes of several black fungi to shed light into their ecology, phylogeny and pathogenicity.
[citation needed] In 2011, a research paper about occurrence of potentially pathogenic black fungi in household dishwashers[27] was partially misreported by the media and went viral.