Question :Suppose there were plants that had a high concentration of chlorophyll b, but lacked chlorophyll a, would it carry out photosynthesis? Then why do plants have chlorophyll b and other accessory pigments?

Question :Suppose there were plants that had a high concentration of c

1.	Question :Suppose there were plants that had a high concentration of chlorophyll b, but lacked chlorophyll a, would it carry out photosynthesis? Then why do plants have chlorophyll b and other accessory pigments?
Answer» Solution :If the plants LACK chlorophyll a, photosynthesis cannot be carried out. Chlorophyll a acts as a reaction centre. In PS I, a has ABSORPTION peak at 700 nm and in PS II at 680 nm. Chlorophyll b and other accessory pigments are able to absorb shorter wavelengths and then transfer their ENERGY to chlorophyll a for photophosphorylation. Such accessory pigments not only enable a WIDER range of wavelength of incoming light to be used for photosynthesis but also protect chlorophyll a from photooxidation.