Question

Accessory thylakoid pigments like chlorophyll b, xanthophylls and carotenoids play an important role in

• A. protecting chlorophyll a from photo-oxidation
• B. enabling the chloroplast in utilizing a wider range of wavelengths of incoming light
• C. absorbing some amount of light and transfer the energy to chlorophyll a
• D. all of the above

Answer 1

The correct option is D all of the above

There are four major (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, xanthophylls, and carotenoids) pigments present inside a chloroplast which are responsible for entrapping the sunlight for photosynthesis.

Chlorophyll a is responsible for the excitation of electron by entrapping the sunlight. The other accessory thylakoid pigments like chlorophyll b, xanthophylls, and carotenoids also absorb light in the wavelengths where chlorophyll a cannot absorb and they transfer the energy to chlorophyll a.

The process of generation of light-dependent active oxygen species is known as photo-oxidation and it can damage chlorophyll a too. The accessory pigments protect chlorophyll a from photo-oxidation. They also absorb a wide range of wavelengths of light, thus enabling the chloroplast in utilizing a wider range of wavelengths of incoming light.