Emerson's enhancement effect and Red drop have been instrumental in the discovery of
- photophosphorylation and cyclic electron transport
- oxidative phosphorylation
- photophosphorylation and non-cyclic electron transport
- two photosystems operating simultaneously.
Answer
(4) two photosystems operating simultaneously.
Solution
Red drop: the quantum yield of photosynthesis falls sharply when only far-red light (beyond 680 nm) is used.
Emerson's enhancement effect: when far-red light is supplemented with shorter-wavelength red light, the rate of photosynthesis becomes greater than the sum of the rates with each light alone.
⇒ This showed that two pigment systems (PS I with P700 and PS II with P680) work together.
∴ These experiments led to the discovery of two photosystems operating simultaneously.
Answer: (4)