Photosynthesis integral and peripheral membrane protein complexes of the photosynthetic system. Plants absorb light primarily using the pigment chlorophyll. The green part of the light spectrum is not absorbed but is reflected which is the reason that most plants have a green color. Besides chlorophyll, plants also use pigments such as carotenes and xanthophylls. Algae also use chlorophyll, but various other pigments are present, such as phycocyanin, carotenes, and xanthophylls in green algae, phycoerythrin in red algae (rhodophytes) and fucoxanthin in brown algae and diatoms resulting in a wide variety of colors. These pigments are embedded in plants and algae in
Chlorophyll a electron transport chain. These two systems are different in their redox potentials for one-electron oxidation. The E for P700 is approximately 500mV, while the E for P680 is approximately 1,100-1,200 mV. Chlorophyll "a" is very important in the energy phase of photosynthesis. Two electrons need to be passed to an electron acceptor for the process of photosynthesis to proceed. Within the reaction centers of both photosystems there are a pair of chlorophyll "a" molecules that pass electrons on to the transport chain through redox reactions. Chlorophyll a Chlorophyll "a" is a specific form of chlorophyll used in oxygenic photosynthesis. It