Efficiency of energy funneling in the photosystem II supercomplex of higher plants

Excitation landscape of the CP43 photosynthetic antenna complex from multiscale simulations

Photosystem II (PSII), the principal enzyme of oxygenic photosynthesis, contains two integral light harvesting proteins (CP43 and CP47) that bind chlorophylls and carotenoids. The two intrinsic antennae play crucial roles in excitation energy transfer and photoprotection. CP43 interacts most closely with the reaction center of PSII, specifically with the branch of the reaction center (D1) that is responsible for primary charge separation and electron transfer. Deciphering the function of CP43 requires detailed atomic-level insights into the properties of the embedded pigments. To advance this goal, we employ a range of multiscale computational approaches to determine the site energies and excitonic profile of CP43 chlorophylls, using large all-atom models of a membrane-bound PSII monomer. In addition to time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) used in the context of a quantum-mechanics/molecular-mechanics setup (QM/MM), we present a thorough analysis using the perturbed matrix method (PMM), which enables us to utilize information from long-timescale molecular dynamics simulations of native PSII-complexed CP43. The excited state energetics and excitonic couplings have both similarities and differences compared with previous experimental fits and theoretical calculations. Both static TD-DFT and dynamic PMM results indicate a layered distribution of site energies and reveal specific groups of chlorophylls that have shared contributions to low-energy excitations. Importantly, the contribution to the lowest energy exciton does not arise from the same chlorophylls at each system configuration, but rather changes as a function of conformational dynamics. An unexpected finding is the identification of a low-energy charge-transfer excited state within CP43 that involves a lumenal (C2) and the central (C10) chlorophyll of the complex. The results provide a refined basis for structure-based interpretation of spectroscopic observations and for further deciphering excitation energy transfer in oxygenic photosynthesis.

Inter-subunit energy transfer processes in a minimal plant photosystem II supercomplex

Photosystem II (PSII) is an integral part of the photosynthesis machinery, in which several light-harvesting complexes rely on inter-complex excitonic energy transfer (EET) processes to channel energy to the reaction center. In this paper, we report on a direct observation of the inter-complex EET in a minimal PSII supercomplex from plants, containing the trimeric light-harvesting complex II (LHCII), the monomeric light-harvesting complex CP26, and the monomeric PSII core complex. Using two-dimensional (2D) electronic spectroscopy, we measure an inter-complex EET timescale of 50 picoseconds for excitations from the LHCII-CP26 peripheral antenna to the PSII core. The 2D electronic spectra also reveal that the transfer timescale is nearly constant over the pump spectrum of 600 to 700 nanometers. Structure-based calculations reveal the contribution of each antenna complex to the measured inter-complex EET time. These results provide a step in elucidating the full inter-complex energy transfer network of the PSII machinery.

Energy transfer from two luteins to chlorophylls in light-harvesting complex II study by using exciton models with phase correction

In light-harvesting complex II of plants, the two lutein pigments (LUT1 and LUT2) are always paired and an energy transfer pathway between them is believed to exist. However, it remains unclear whether this pathway is essential for the energy transfer between carotenoids and chlorophylls. In this work, we performed hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics simulations with Frenkel exciton models to investigate this energy transfer. The results show that the energy transfer pathways between the S2 state of LUT1 and CLAs are not affected by LUT2 S2. The energy transfer between LUT and chlorophyll-a (CLA) also follows a resonance mechanism. The two LUTs have different energy transfer pathways according to their energy gaps and coupling strengths with each CLA. The present work sheds light on the energy transfer pathways involved in the two LUTs.

A quantum trajectory picture of single photon absorption and energy transport in photosystem II

We use quantum trajectory theory to study the dynamics of the first step in photosynthesis for a single photon interacting with photosystem II (PSII). By considering individual trajectories we are able to look beyond the ensemble average dynamics to compute the PSII system evolution conditioned upon individual photon counting measurements. Measurements of the transmitted photon beam strongly affects the system state, since detection of an outgoing photon confirms that the PSII must be in the electronic ground state, while a null measurement implies it is in an excited electronic state. We show that under ideal conditions, observing the null result transforms a state with a low excited state population to a state with nearly all population contained in the excited states. We study the PSII dynamics conditioned on such photon counting for both a pure excitonic model of PSII and a more realistic model with exciton-phonon coupling to a dissipative phononic environment. In the absence of such coupling, we show that the measured fluorescence rates show oscillations constituting a photon-counting witness of excitonic coherence. Excitonic coupling to the phonon environment has a strong effect on the observed rates of fluorescence, damping the oscillations. Addition of non-radiative decay and incoherent transitions to radical pair states in the reaction center to the phononic model allows extraction of a quantum efficiency of 92.5% from the long-time evolution, consistent with bulk experimental measurements.

The location of the low-energy states in Lhca1 favors excitation energy transfer to the core in the plant PSI-LHCI supercomplex

Lhca1 is one of the four pigment-protein complexes composing the outer antenna of plant Photosystem I-light-havesting I supercomplex (PSI-LHCI). It forms a functional dimer with Lhca4 but, differently from this complex, it does not contain 'red-forms,' i.e., pigments absorbing above 700 nm. Interestingly, the recent PSI-LHCI structures suggest that Lhca1 is the main point of delivering the energy harvested by the antenna to the core. To identify the excitation energy pathways in Lhca1, we developed a structure-based exciton model based on the simultaneous fit of the low-temperature absorption, linear dichroism, and fluorescence spectra of wild-type Lhca1 and two mutants, lacking chlorophylls contributing to the long-wavelength region of the absorption. The model enables us to define the locations of the lowest energy pigments in Lhca1 and estimate pathways and timescales of energy transfer within the complex and to the PSI core. We found that Lhca1 has a particular energy landscape with an unusual (compared to Lhca4, LHCII, and CP29) configuration of the low-energy states. Remarkably, these states are located near the core, facilitating direct energy transfer to it. Moreover, the low-energy states of Lhca1 are also coupled to the red-most state (red forms) of the neighboring Lhca4 antenna, providing a pathway for effective excitation energy transfer from Lhca4 to the core.

Thermal site energy fluctuations in photosystem I: new insights from MD/QM/MM calculations

Cyanobacterial photosystem I (PSI) is one of the most efficient photosynthetic machineries found in nature. Due to the large scale and complexity of the system, the energy transfer mechanism from the antenna complex to the reaction center is still not fully understood. A central element is the accurate evaluation of the individual chlorophyll excitation energies (site energies). Such an evaluation must include a detailed treatment of site specific environmental influences on structural and electrostatic properties, but also their evolution in the temporal domain, because of the dynamic nature of the energy transfer process. In this work, we calculate the site energies of all 96 chlorophylls in a membrane-embedded model of PSI. The employed hybrid QM/MM approach using the multireference DFT/MRCI method in the QM region allows to obtain accurate site energies under explicit consideration of the natural environment. We identify energy traps and barriers in the antenna complex and discuss their implications for energy transfer to the reaction center. Going beyond previous studies, our model also accounts for the molecular dynamics of the full trimeric PSI complex. Via statistical analysis we show that the thermal fluctuations of single chlorophylls prevent the formation of a single prominent energy funnel within the antenna complex. These findings are also supported by a dipole exciton model. We conclude that energy transfer pathways may form only transiently at physiological temperatures, as thermal fluctuations overcome energy barriers. The set of site energies provided in this work sets the stage for theoretical and experimental studies on the highly efficient energy transfer mechanisms in PSI.

Dynamics of photosynthetic light harvesting systems interacting with N-photon Fock states

We develop a method to simulate the excitonic dynamics of realistic photosynthetic light harvesting systems, including non-Markovian coupling to phonon degrees of freedom, under excitation by N-photon Fock state pulses. This method combines the input–output and the hierarchical equations of motion formalisms into a double hierarchy of density matrix equations. We show analytically that under weak field excitation relevant to natural photosynthesis conditions, an N-photon Fock state input and a corresponding coherent state input give rise to equal density matrices in the excited manifold. However, an N-photon Fock state input induces no off-diagonal coherence between the ground and excited subspaces, in contrast with the coherences created by a coherent state input. We derive expressions for the probability to absorb a single Fock state photon with or without the influence of phonons. For short pulses (or, equivalently, wide bandwidth pulses), we show that the absorption probability has a universal behavior that depends only upon a system-dependent effective energy spread parameter Δ and an exciton–light coupling constant Γ. This holds for a broad range of chromophore systems and for a variety of pulse shapes. We also analyze the absorption probability in the opposite long pulse (narrow bandwidth) regime. We then derive an expression for the long time emission rate in the presence of phonons and use it to study the difference between collective vs independent emission. Finally, we present a numerical simulation for the LHCII monomer (14-mer) system under single photon excitation that illustrates the use of the double hierarchy equations.

The origin of unidirectional charge separation in photosynthetic reaction centers: nonadiabatic quantum dynamics of exciton and charge in pigment-protein complexes

Exciton charge separation in photosynthetic reaction centers from purple bacteria (PbRC) and photosystem II (PSII) occurs exclusively along one of the two pseudo-symmetric branches (active branch) of pigment-protein complexes. The microscopic origin of unidirectional charge separation in photosynthesis remains controversial. Here we elucidate the essential factors leading to unidirectional charge separation in PbRC and PSII, using nonadiabatic quantum dynamics calculations in conjunction with time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) with the quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics/polarizable continuum model (QM/MM/PCM) method. This approach accounts for energetics, electronic coupling, and vibronic coupling of the pigment excited states under electrostatic interactions and polarization of whole protein environments. The calculated time constants of charge separation along the active branches of PbRC and PSII are similar to those observed in time-resolved spectroscopic experiments. In PbRC, Tyr-M210 near the accessary bacteriochlorophyll reduces the energy of the intermediate state and drastically accelerates charge separation overcoming the electron-hole interaction. Remarkably, even though both the active and inactive branches in PSII can accept excitons from light-harvesting complexes, charge separation in the inactive branch is prevented by a weak electronic coupling due to symmetry-breaking of the chlorophyll configurations. The exciton in the inactive branch in PSII can be transferred to the active branch via direct and indirect pathways. Subsequently, the ultrafast electron transfer to pheophytin in the active branch prevents exciton back transfer to the inactive branch, thereby achieving unidirectional charge separation.

Multiscale QM/MM molecular dynamics simulations of the trimeric major light-harvesting complex II

Photosynthetic processes are driven by sunlight. Too little of it and the photosynthetic machinery cannot produce the reductive power to drive the anabolic pathways. Too much sunlight and the machinery can get damaged. In higher plants, the major Light-Harvesting Complex (LHCII) efficiently absorbs the light energy, but can also dissipate it when in excess (quenching). In order to study the dynamics related to the quenching process but also the exciton dynamics in general, one needs to accurately determine the so-called spectral density which describes the coupling between the relevant pigment modes and the environmental degrees of freedom. To this end, Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations in a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) fashion utilizing the density functional based tight binding (DFTB) method have been performed for the ground state dynamics. Subsequently, the time-dependent extension of the long-range-corrected DFTB scheme has been employed for the excited state calculations of the individual chlorophyll-a molecules in the LHCII complex. The analysis of this data resulted in spectral densities showing an astonishing agreement with the experimental counterpart in this rather large system. This consistency with an experimental observable also supports the accuracy, robustness, and reliability of the present multi-scale scheme. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first theoretical attempt on this large complex system is ever made to accurately simulate the spectral density. In addition, the resulting spectral densities and site energies were used to determine the exciton transfer rate within a special pigment pair consisting of a chlorophyll-a and a carotenoid molecule which is assumed to play a role in the balance between the light harvesting and quenching modes.

Spectral tuning of chlorophylls in proteins - electrostatics vs. ring deformation

In photosynthetic complexes, tuning of chlorophyll light-absorption spectra by the protein environment is crucial to their efficiency and robustness. Recombinant type II water soluble chlorophyll-binding proteins from Brassicaceae (WSCPs) are useful for studying spectral tuning mechanisms due to their symmetric homotetramer structure, and the ability to rigorously modify the chlorophyll's protein surroundings. Our previous comparison of the crystal structures of two WSCP homologues suggested that protein-induced chlorophyll ring deformation is the predominant spectral tuning mechanism. Here, we implement a more rigorous analysis based on hybrid quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics calculations to quantify the relative contributions of geometrical and electrostatic factors to the absorption spectra of WSCP-chlorophyll complexes. We show that when considering conformational dynamics, geometry distortions such as chlorophyll ring deformation accounts for about one-third of the spectral shift, whereas the direct polarization of the electron density accounts for the remaining two-thirds. From a practical perspective, protein electrostatics is easier to manipulate than chlorophyll conformations, thus, it may be more readily implemented in designing artificial protein-chlorophyll complexes.

Chlorophyll excitation energies and structural stability of the CP47 antenna of photosystem II: a case study in the first-principles simulation of light-harvesting complexes

Natural photosynthesis relies on light harvesting and excitation energy transfer by specialized pigment-protein complexes. Their structure and the electronic properties of the embedded chromophores define the mechanisms of energy transfer. An important example of a pigment-protein complex is CP47, one of the integral antennae of the oxygen-evolving photosystem II (PSII) that is responsible for efficient excitation energy transfer to the PSII reaction center. The charge-transfer excitation induced among coupled reaction center chromophores resolves into charge separation that initiates the electron transfer cascade driving oxygenic photosynthesis. Mapping the distribution of site energies among the 16 chlorophyll molecules of CP47 is essential for understanding excitation energy transfer and overall antenna function. In this work, we demonstrate a multiscale quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) approach utilizing full time-dependent density functional theory with modern range-separated functionals to compute for the first time the excitation energies of all CP47 chlorophylls in a complete membrane-embedded cyanobacterial PSII dimer. The results quantify the electrostatic effect of the protein on the site energies of CP47 chlorophylls, providing a high-level quantum chemical excitation profile of CP47 within a complete computational model of "near-native" cyanobacterial PSII. The ranking of site energies and the identity of the most red-shifted chlorophylls (B3, followed by B1) differ from previous hypotheses in the literature and provide an alternative basis for evaluating past approaches and semiempirically fitted sets. Given that a lot of experimental studies on CP47 and other light-harvesting complexes utilize extracted samples, we employ molecular dynamics simulations of isolated CP47 to identify which parts of the polypeptide are most destabilized and which pigments are most perturbed when the antenna complex is extracted from PSII. We demonstrate that large parts of the isolated complex rapidly refold to non-native conformations and that certain pigments (such as chlorophyll B1 and β-carotene h1) are so destabilized that they are probably lost upon extraction of CP47 from PSII. The results suggest that the properties of isolated CP47 are not representative of the native complexed antenna. The insights obtained from CP47 are generalizable, with important implications for the information content of experimental studies on biological light-harvesting antenna systems.

Mimicking Natural Photosynthesis: Designing Ultrafast Photosensitized Electron Transfer into Multiheme Cytochrome Protein Nanowires

Efficient nanomaterials for artificial photosynthesis require fast and robust unidirectional electron transfer (ET) from photosensitizers through charge-separation and accumulation units to redox-active catalytic sites. We explored the ultrafast time-scale limits of photo-induced charge transfer between a Ru(II)tris(bipyridine) derivative photosensitizer and PpcA, a 3-heme c-type cytochrome serving as a nanoscale biological wire. Four covalent attachment sites (K28C, K29C, K52C, and G53C) were engineered in PpcA enabling site-specific covalent labeling with expected donor-acceptor (DA) distances of 4-8 Å. X-ray scattering results demonstrated that mutations and chemical labeling did not disrupt the structure of the proteins. Time-resolved spectroscopy revealed three orders of magnitude difference in charge transfer rates for the systems with otherwise similar DA distances and the same number of covalent bonds separating donors and acceptors. All-atom molecular dynamics simulations provided additional insight into the structure-function requirements for ultrafast charge transfer and the requirement of van der Waals contact between aromatic atoms of photosensitizers and hemes in order to observe sub-nanosecond ET. This work demonstrates opportunities to utilize multi-heme c-cytochromes as frameworks for designing ultrafast light-driven ET into charge-accumulating biohybrid model systems, and ultimately for mimicking the photosynthetic paradigm of efficiently coupling ultrafast, light-driven electron transfer chemistry to multi-step catalysis within small, experimentally versatile photosynthetic biohybrid assemblies.

Light harvesting in oxygenic photosynthesis: Structural biology meets spectroscopy

Oxygenic photosynthesis is the main process that drives life on earth. It starts with the harvesting of solar photons that, after transformation into electronic excitations, lead to charge separation in the reaction centers of photosystems I and II (PSI and PSII). These photosystems are large, modular pigment-protein complexes that work in series to fuel the formation of carbohydrates, concomitantly producing molecular oxygen. Recent advances in cryo-electron microscopy have enabled the determination of PSI and PSII structures in complex with light-harvesting components called "supercomplexes" from different organisms at near-atomic resolution. Here, we review the structural and spectroscopic aspects of PSI and PSII from plants and algae that directly relate to their light-harvesting properties, with special attention paid to the pathways and efficiency of excitation energy transfer and the regulatory aspects.

Mutualistic benefit in the self-sorted co-aggregates of peri-naphthoindigo and a 4-amino-1,8-naphthalimide derivative

Photoluminescence enhancement for all the members of a self-sorted co-aggregate was observed for the first time by successfully amalgamating AIEE and social self-sorting. Intermolecular H-bonding and π-π stacking were utilised to prepare several co-aggregates of peri-naphthoindigo (PNI) and a 4-amino-1,8-naphthalimide derivative dye, NH₂-NMI. In the heteromeric aggregates, photoluminescence intensities were increased by 28% for the imide and more than 400% for PNI. Due to spectral overlap between the emission of the imide and the absorption of PNI, energy transfer took place from the former to the latter. The heteromeric aggregates are dual emissive and the relative intensities of the emissions can easily be tuned by varying the stoichiometry of the dyes.

A theoretical study on the dynamics of light harvesting in the dimeric photosystem II core complex: regulation and robustness of energy transfer pathways

Here we present our theoretical investigations into the light reaction in the dimeric photosystem II (PSII) core complex. An effective model for excitation energy transfer (EET) and primary charge separation (CS) in the PSII core complex was developed, with model parameters constructed based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulation data. Compared to experimental results, we demonstrated that this model faithfully reproduces the absorption spectra of the RC and core light-harvesting complexes (CP43 and CP47) as well as the full EET dynamics among the chromophores in the PSII core complex. We then applied master equation simulations and network analysis to investigate detailed EET plus CS dynamics in the system, allowing us to identify key EET pathways and produce a coarse-grained cluster model for the light reaction in the dimeric PSII core complex. We show that non-equilibrium energy transfer channels play important roles in the efficient light harvesting process and that multiple EET pathways exist between subunits of PSII to ensure the robustness of light harvesting in the system. Furthermore, we revealed that inter-monomer energy transfer dominated by the coupling between the two CLA625 molecules enables efficient energy exchange between two CP47s in the dimeric PSII core complex, which leads to significant energy pooling in the CP47 domain during the light reaction. Our study provides a blueprint for the design of light harvesting in the PSII core and show that a structure-based approach using molecular dynamics simulations and quantum chemistry calculations can be effectively utilized to elucidate the dynamics of light harvesting in complex photosynthetic systems.

Photosynthetic Energy Transfer at the Quantum/Classical Border

Quantum mechanics diverges from the classical description of our world when very small scales or very fast processes are involved. Unlike classical mechanics, quantum effects cannot be easily related to our everyday experience and are often counterintuitive to us. Nevertheless, the dimensions and time scales of the photosynthetic energy transfer processes puts them close to the quantum/classical border, bringing them into the range of measurable quantum effects. Here we review recent advances in the field and suggest that photosynthetic processes can take advantage of the sensitivity of quantum effects to the environmental 'noise' as means of tuning exciton energy transfer efficiency. If true, this design principle could be a base for 'nontrivial' coherent wave property nano-devices.

Local protein solvation drives direct down-conversion in phycobiliprotein PC645 via incoherent vibronic transport

The mechanisms controlling excitation energy transport (EET) in light-harvesting complexes remain controversial. Following the observation of long-lived beats in 2D electronic spectroscopy of PC645, vibronic coherence, the delocalization of excited states between pigments supported by a resonant vibration, has been proposed to enable direct excitation transport from the highest-energy to the lowest-energy pigments, bypassing a collection of intermediate states. Here, we instead show that for phycobiliprotein PC645 an incoherent vibronic transport mechanism is at play. We quantify the solvation dynamics of individual pigments using ab initio quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) nuclear dynamics. Our atomistic spectral densities reproduce experimental observations ranging from absorption and fluorescence spectra to the timescales and selectivity of down-conversion observed in transient absorption measurements. We construct a general model for vibronic dimers and establish the parameter regimes of coherent and incoherent vibronic transport. We demonstrate that direct down-conversion in PC645 proceeds incoherently, enhanced by large reorganization energies and a broad collection of high-frequency vibrations. We suggest that a similar incoherent mechanism is appropriate across phycobiliproteins and represents a potential design principle for nanoscale control of EET.

Machine learning for quantum dynamics: deep learning of excitation energy transfer properties

Understanding the relationship between the structure of light-harvesting systems and their excitation energy transfer properties is of fundamental importance in many applications including the development of next generation photovoltaics. Natural light harvesting in photosynthesis shows remarkable excitation energy transfer properties, which suggests that pigment-protein complexes could serve as blueprints for the design of nature inspired devices. Mechanistic insights into energy transport dynamics can be gained by leveraging numerically involved propagation schemes such as the hierarchical equations of motion (HEOM). Solving these equations, however, is computationally costly due to the adverse scaling with the number of pigments. Therefore virtual high-throughput screening, which has become a powerful tool in material discovery, is less readily applicable for the search of novel excitonic devices. We propose the use of artificial neural networks to bypass the computational limitations of established techniques for exploring the structure-dynamics relation in excitonic systems. Once trained, our neural networks reduce computational costs by several orders of magnitudes. Our predicted transfer times and transfer efficiencies exhibit similar or even higher accuracies than frequently used approximate methods such as secular Redfield theory.

Subunit and chlorophyll organization of the plant photosystem II supercomplex

Photosystem II (PSII) is a light-driven protein, involved in the primary reactions of photosynthesis. In plant photosynthetic membranes PSII forms large multisubunit supercomplexes, containing a dimeric core and up to four light-harvesting complexes (LHCs), which act as antenna proteins. Here we solved a three-dimensional (3D) structure of the C₂S₂M₂ supercomplex from Arabidopsis thaliana using cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and single-particle analysis at an overall resolution of 5.3 Å. Using a combination of homology modelling and restrained refinement against the cryo-EM map, it was possible to model atomic structures for all antenna complexes and almost all core subunits. We located all 35 chlorophylls of the core region based on the cyanobacterial PSII structure, whose positioning is highly conserved, as well as all the chlorophylls of the LHCII S and M trimers. A total of 13 and 9 chlorophylls were identified in CP26 and CP24, respectively. Energy flow from LHC complexes to the PSII reaction centre is proposed to follow preferential pathways: CP26 and CP29 directly transfer to the core using several routes for efficient transfer; the S trimer is directly connected to CP43 and the M trimer can efficiently transfer energy to the core through CP29 and the S trimer.

Two-dimensional electronic spectra of the photosynthetic apparatus of green sulfur bacteria

Advances in time resolved spectroscopy have provided new insight into the energy transmission in natural photosynthetic complexes. Novel theoretical tools and models are being developed in order to explain the experimental results. We provide a model calculation for the two-dimensional electronic spectra of Cholorobaculum tepidum which correctly describes the main features and transfer time scales found in recent experiments. From our calculation one can infer the coupling of the antenna chlorosome with the environment and the coupling between the chlorosome and the Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex. We show that environment assisted transport between the subunits is the required mechanism to reproduce the experimental two-dimensional electronic spectra.

Lévy Defects in Matrix-Immobilized J Aggregates: Tracing Intra-and Intersegmental Exciton Relaxation

One-dimensional J aggregates present narrow and intense absorption and emission spectra that are interesting for photonics applications. Matrix immobilization of the aggregates, as required for most device architectures, has recently been shown to induce a non-Gaussian (Lévy type) defect distribution with heavy tails, expected to influence exciton relaxation. Here we perform two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES) in one-dimensional J aggregates of the cyanine dye TDBC, immobilized in a gel matrix, and we quantitatively model 2DES maps by nonlinear optimization coupled to quantum mechanical calculations of the transient excitonic response. We find that immobilization causes strong non-Gaussian off-diagonal disorder, leading to a segmentation of the chains. Intersegmental exciton transfer is found to proceed on the picosecond time scale, causing a long-lasting excitation memory. These findings can be used to inform the design of optoelectronic devices based on J aggregates as they allow for control of exciton properties by disorder management.