Question

Which of the following is a normal process of photosynthesis that could not occur if all reaction centers were inactivated by a toxin?
A. donation of excited electrons by chlorophyll a to a primary electron acceptor
B. absorption of photons by chlorophyll b
C. absorption of photons by carotenoids
D. donation of excited electrons by chlorophyll b to a primary electron acceptor

Answer 1

Answer:

A. donation of excited electrons by chlorophyll a to a primary electron acceptor

Explanation:

Photosystems are structures located at the thylakoid membrane that act to harvest energy light in order to convert it into chemical energy. Each photosystem is composed of a light-harvesting complex and a core complex, which in turn is composed of a reaction center. The photosynthetic reaction centers are multi-protein complexes that use light energy to catalyze the electron transfer across the chloroplast thylakoid membrane against a thermodynamic gradient. Moreover, antenna pigments are pigments that capture the energy from photons in order to transfer energy to other pigments in the photosystem (e.g., chlorophyll B and carotenes are antenna pigments, whereas chlorophyll A is the core pigment). Light energy absorbed by antenna pigments in the photosystems is transferred to the reaction center chlorophyll A molecules, thereby exiting electrons in the reaction center. A reaction center consists of two chlorophyll A molecules, which donate electrons to the primary electron acceptor.