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MCQ · Q1

Q.The brown colour of Phaeophyceae is chiefly due to the accessory pigment:

(a) Chlorophyll a
(b) Fucoxanthin
(c) Phycoerythrin
(d) Anthocyanin
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✓ Free question

Phaeophyceae carry chlorophyll a and c, but their characteristic brown colour comes from an abundant accessory pigment, fucoxanthin, which masks the green of the chlorophylls underneath. Chlorophyll a (option a) is present in almost every photosynthetic alga and so cannot, by itself, explain a colour that is specific to one class. Phycoerythrin (option c) is instead the pigment that gives Rhodophyceae their red colour, and anthocyanin (option d) is a pigment associated with flower and fruit colour in higher plants, not with any class of algae.

✓Final answer

(b) Fucoxanthin

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