Accessory pigments are light-absorbing compounds, found in

photosynthetic Photosynthesis ( ) is a Biological system, system of biological processes by which Photoautotrophism, photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical ener ...

organism An organism is any life, living thing that functions as an individual. Such a definition raises more problems than it solves, not least because the concept of an individual is also difficult. Many criteria, few of them widely accepted, have be ...

s, that work in conjunction with chlorophyll ''a''. They include other forms of this pigment, such as chlorophyll ''b'' in green algal and vascular ("higher") plant antennae, while other algae may contain chlorophyll ''c'' or ''d''. In addition, there are many non-chlorophyll accessory pigments, such as carotenoids or

phycobiliprotein Phycobiliproteins are water-soluble proteins present in cyanobacteria and certain algae (rhodophytes, cryptomonads, glaucocystophytes). They capture light energy, which is then passed on to chlorophylls during photosynthesis. Phycobiliproteins are ...

s, which also absorb light and transfer that light

energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

to photosystem chlorophyll. Some of these accessory pigments, in particular the carotenoids, also serve to absorb and dissipate excess light energy, or work as antioxidants. The large, physically associated group of chlorophylls and other accessory pigments is sometimes referred to as a ''pigment bed''. The different chlorophyll and non-chlorophyll pigments associated with the photosystems all have different absorption spectra, either because the spectra of the different chlorophyll pigments are modified by their local protein environment or because the accessory pigments have intrinsic structural differences. The result is that, in vivo, a composite absorption spectrum of all these pigments is broadened and flattened such that a wider range of visible and

infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...

radiation is absorbed by plants and algae. Most photosynthetic organisms do not absorb green light well, thus most remaining light under leaf canopies in forests or under water with abundant plankton is green, a spectral effect called the "green window". Organisms such as some

cyanobacteria Cyanobacteria ( ) are a group of autotrophic gram-negative bacteria that can obtain biological energy via oxygenic photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" () refers to their bluish green (cyan) color, which forms the basis of cyanobacteri ...

and

red algae Red algae, or Rhodophyta (, ; ), make up one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae. The Rhodophyta comprises one of the largest Phylum, phyla of algae, containing over 7,000 recognized species within over 900 Genus, genera amidst ongoing taxon ...

contain accessory

s that absorb green light reaching these habitats. In

aquatic ecosystem An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem found in and around a body of water, in contrast to land-based terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems contain communities of organisms—aquatic life—that are dependent on each other and on their environ ...

s, it is likely that the absorption spectrum of

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

, along with gilvin and tripton ( dissolved and particulate

organic matter Organic matter, organic material or natural organic matter is the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have come fro ...

, respectively), determines phototrophic niche differentiation. The six shoulders in the light absorption of water between

wavelength In physics and mathematics, wavelength or spatial period of a wave or periodic function is the distance over which the wave's shape repeats. In other words, it is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same ''phase (waves ...

s 400 and 1100 nm correspond to troughs in the collective absorption of at least twenty diverse species of phototrophic bacteria. Another effect is due to the overall trend for water to absorb low frequencies, while gilvin and tripton absorb higher ones. This is why open ocean appears blue and supports yellow species such as ''

Prochlorococcus ''Prochlorococcus'' is a genus of very small (0.6 μm) marine cyanobacteria with an unusual pigmentation ( chlorophyll ''a2'' and ''b2''). These bacteria belong to the photosynthetic picoplankton and are probably the most abundant photosyn ...

'', which contains divinyl-chlorophyll ''a'' and ''b''. '' Synechococcus'', colored red with

phycoerythrin Phycoerythrin (PE) is a red protein-pigment complex from the light-harvesting phycobiliprotein family, present in cyanobacteria, red algae and Cryptomonad, cryptophytes, accessory to the main chlorophyll pigments responsible for photosynthesis.The ...

, is adapted to coastal bodies, while

phycocyanin Phycocyanin is a pigment-protein complex from the light-harvesting phycobiliprotein family, along with allophycocyanin and phycoerythrin. It is an accessory pigment to chlorophyll. All phycobiliproteins are water-soluble, so they cannot exist ...

allows

Cyanobacteria Cyanobacteria ( ) are a group of autotrophic gram-negative bacteria that can obtain biological energy via oxygenic photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" () refers to their bluish green (cyan) color, which forms the basis of cyanobacteri ...

to thrive in darker inland waters.

References

{{reflist Photosynthesis

See also

References