PHOTOSYSTEMS

Pigment molecules organized into photosystems capture sunlight in the chloroplast.Photosystems are clusters of light-absorbing pigments with some associated molecules—proton (hydrogen ion) pumps, enzymes, coenzymes, and cytochromes. Each photosystem contains about 200 molecules of a green pigment called chlorophyll and about 50 molecules of another family of pigments calledcarotenoids. In the reaction center of the photosystem, the energy of sunlight is converted to chemical energy. The center is sometimes called a light-harvesting antenna.

There are two photosystems within the thylakoid membranes, designatedphotosystem I and photosystem II. The reaction centers of these photosystems are P700 and P680, respectively. The energy captured in these reaction centers drives chemiosmosis, and the energy of chemiosmosis stimulates ATP production in the chloroplasts.