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Chlorophyll is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. [2] Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρός (khloros, "pale green") and φύλλον (phyllon, "leaf"). [3] Chlorophyll allows plants to absorb energy from light.
The light-harvesting complex (or antenna complex; LH or LHC) is an array of protein and chlorophyll molecules embedded in the thylakoid membrane of plants and cyanobacteria, which transfer light energy to one chlorophyll a molecule at the reaction center of a photosystem. The antenna pigments are predominantly chlorophyll b, xanthophylls, and ...
Other forms of chlorophyll exist, such as the accessory pigments chlorophyll b, chlorophyll c, chlorophyll d, [12] and chlorophyll f. Chlorophyll b is an olive green pigment found only in the chloroplasts of plants , green algae , any secondary chloroplasts obtained through the secondary endosymbiosis of a green alga, and a few cyanobacteria ...
The reaction begins with the excitation of a pair of chlorophyll molecules similar to those in the bacterial reaction center. Due to the presence of chlorophyll a, as opposed to bacteriochlorophyll, Photosystem II absorbs light at a shorter wavelength. The pair of chlorophyll molecules at the reaction center are often referred to as P680. [1]
At the center of the reaction center is a special pair of chlorophyll molecules. Each PSII has about 8 LHCII. These contain about 14 chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b molecules, as well as about four carotenoids. In the reaction center of PSII of plants and cyanobacteria, the light energy is used to split water into oxygen, protons, and electrons.
The light-harvesting system of PSI uses multiple copies of the same transmembrane proteins used by PSII. The energy of absorbed light (in the form of delocalized, high-energy electrons) is funneled into the reaction center, where it excites special chlorophyll molecules (P700, with maximum light absorption at 700 nm) to a higher energy level.
Chlorophylls and carotenoids are important in light-harvesting complexes present in plants. Chlorophyll b is almost identical to chlorophyll a, except it has a formyl group in place of a methyl group. This small difference makes chlorophyll b absorb light with wavelengths between 400 and 500 nm more efficiently.
Chloroplast thylakoids frequently form stacks of disks referred to as grana (singular: granum). Grana are connected by intergranal or stromal thylakoids, which join granum stacks together as a single functional compartment. In thylakoid membranes, chlorophyll pigments are found in packets called quantasomes. Each quantasome contains 230 to 250 ...