Final answer:
Cyclic photophosphorylation involves photosystem I and ATP synthesis but does not involve NADPH formation, which is the correct component that does not occur during this process in cyanobacteria. The correct answer is option d.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question addresses the topic of cyclic photophosphorylation, which is a process involved in the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis. This process specifically occurs when the need for ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is greater than the need for NADPH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) in photosynthetic organisms like plants and cyanobacteria. During cyclic photophosphorylation, electrons are excited in photosystem I (PSI) and instead of being passed to NADP+ to form NADPH, they are cycled back to PSI through an electron transport system (ETS), generating a proton gradient used for ATP synthesis via chemiosmosis. In contrast, non-cyclic photophosphorylation involves both PSI and PSII and leads to the generation of both ATP and NADPH.
Given the provided choices and the nature of cyclic photophosphorylation, we can conclude that it does involve the use of PSI and ATP synthesis but does not result in the generation of NADPH. Therefore, D. NADPH formation does not occur during cyclic photophosphorylation in cyanobacteria. This is the correct option to answer the student's question.