Irradiation of various types of microfungi spores by vacuum ultraviolet radiation (VUV) (λ = 172 nm, 2 mW/cm2) was carried out in this work. It was found, that the VUV radiation leads to inactivation of spores in the dose range 10-240 mJ/cm2, depending on the fungal species. Shadowing effect of overlapping layers of spores was observed. Protective property of melanin at λ = 172 nm has been proven experimentally. Presence of melanin in the cell structure led to an increase of the inactivation dose of VUV radiation in more than one order. Fluorescence microscopy have revealed differences in the structure of the membrane of control and irradiated spore. VUV irradiation of DNA samples (200 ng) at λ=172 nm showed almost complete absence of double-stranded DNA parts at doses of more than 240 mJ/cm2.