What other photosynthetic pigments exist other than chlorophyll?

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Melissa Petruzzello

Encyclopedia Britannica Editor

Mar 11 '21

Chlorophyll is the dominant photosynthetic pigment used by nearly every photosynthetic organisms (plants, algae, and cyanobacteria). There are several forms of chlorophyll, with chlorophyll a being the most common and chlorophylls b and c following in importance. Chlorophyll absorbs the energy of sunlight, which then powers the process of photosynthesis.

There are, however, several other pigments, known as "accessory pigments" that can help with the capture of light energy. These pigments are accessory because they cannot pass their captured energy directly to the photosynthetic pathway and must first pass it on to chlorophyll. The most plentiful of these are the carotenoids (including carotenes and xanthophylls), which are red, orange, yellow, or brown pigments in many plants and algae. Another group of pigments are the phycobilins, which are found in red algae and cyanobacteria. Some sources state that anthocyanins may be accessory pigments, but it seems their main role is more likely to protect plant tissues from UV radiation.