Name: Light and the Dark Reactions of Photosynthesis
Uploaded: 2019-07-19
Duration: 4 min 38 s
Description: A big plan is to show all the reactions involved in photosynthesis, the light reactions as well as the dark reactions leading to the synthesis of carbohydrates.

Question

What are the roles played by antenna complex and photosystems in the process of photosynthesis?

Accepted Answer

The photosynthetic pigments in the higher plants are chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b, xanthophyll and carotenoids. These are organised into discrete light-harvesting complexes (LHC) called photosystems. The photosystems are made up of hundreds of pigment molecules bounded by protein. Photosystem is the functional unit of photosynthesis. It absorbs and transfers the light energy, which implies the transfer of electrons. The electron transfer is initiated through an electron transport chain and that leads to the formation of ATP molecules.

Each photosystem has a reaction centre that contains a special chlorophyll-a molecule. It is fed by hundreds of other pigment molecules such as chlorophyll-b, chlorophyll-a, xanthophyll and carotenoids. It forms the light-harvesting system called antenna. The antenna complex absorbs light of different wavelengths, shorter than reaction centre and transfer it to the reaction centre.

What are the roles played by antenna complex and photosystems in the process of photosynthesis?

Important Questions on Photosynthesis in Higher Plants

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