Actuellement, plus de 70% des biomédicaments commercialisés sont des glycoprotéines recombinantes. Les coûts élevés de production de ces biomédicaments ont poussé les scientifiques à développer des organismes de production alternatifs. Récemment, les microalgues ont été proposées en tant que potentiel système de production compte-tenu de leur rapidité de croissance et de leurs faibles coûts de production. Cependant, avant de produire des biomédicaments industriels chez les microalgues, il est impératif de s’assurer que les modifications post-traductionnelles, comme la N-glycosylation, soit conservées et compatibles avec une utilisation thérapeutique. Dans ce contexte, l’étude de la Nglycosylation de deux microalgues modèles, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (microalgue verte) et Phaeodactylum tricornutum (diatomée) a été réalisée. Dans un premier temps, l’ingénierie de la N-glycosylation de C. reinhardtii a été initiée en exprimant une Nacétylglucosaminyltransférase I (GnT I) hétérologue. Les résultats obtenus ont permis de réévaluer les voies de N-glycosylation de C. reinhardtii et de montrer que cette microalgue synthétise une structure glycannique linéaire qui n’est pas substrat de la GnT I. Dans un second temps, un protocole d’extraction et de caractérisation des précurseurs glycanniques de C. reinhardtii et P. tricornutum a été développé et appliqué pour déterminer la structure des précurseurs glycanniques dans ces espèces. Enfin, la caractérisation de deuxxylosyltransférases potentielles (XTA et XTB) de C. reinhardtii a été menée en utilisant des mutants d’insertion et des analyses des N-glycannes par spectrométrie de masse. Cette étude a confirmé les rôles spécifiques de XTA et XTB dans la voie de N-glycosylation de C. reinhardtii. / Currently, more than 70% of the commercialized biopharmaceuticals are glycoproteins. The high production costs lead scientists to develop alternative organisms suitable for such production. Recently, microalgae emerged as a potential interesting production system thanks to their quick growth rate and low production costs. However, prior to start industrial glycoproteins production in microalgae, protein post-translational modifications like Nglycosylation, must be carefully controlled. This PhD thesis focused on the analysis of the Nglycosylation pathway of two different microalgae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (greenmicroalgae) and Phaeodactylum tricornutum (diatom). In order to start N-glycan engineering, heterologous N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I (GnT I) sequences were expressed in C.reinhardtii. This study demonstrated that C. reinhardtii synthetize a linear N-glycan unsuitable for GnT I activity and allows the reinvestigation of the C. reinhardtii N-glycosylation pathway. A second chapter of this work focus on the optimization of a protocol suitable for analyzing the structure of the Dolichol N-linked precursors of C. reinhardtii and P. tricornutum. Lastly, two potential xylosyltransferases (XTA and XTB) from C. reinhardtii were characterized using insertional mutants and N-glycomic analyses by mass spectrometry approaches. This work allows us to propose specific involvement of XTA and XTB in the xylosylation processing of C.reinhardtii N-glycans.

This dissertation describes a study utilizing bioinformatics to analyze homologues of a molecular chaperone, glucose-regulated protein 78 (grp 78), also known as BiP. The selected homologous proteins originate from organisms of infinitely diverse genera. Comparisons of protein sequence yielded the first clues of a common ancestry among these proteins. Furthermore, protein molecular weights, isoelectric points, N-terminal amino acids and half-lives of a known homolog and a non-homologous protein were examined. Additionally, electroporation, a state-of-the-art plasmid insertion technique, was explored using Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a green alga, as the recipient of a parent plasmid, pSP124S. Distinctive hypertonic solutions and three separate field strengths were used in the plasmolysis of the cell wall of C. reinhardtii and subsequent electroporation, respectively. The number of transformants was tallied to evaluate which electroporation condition would yield the most transformed colonies. We had two discrete hypotheses: 1) that a structurally and functionally similar protein to glucose-regulated protein 78 exists across a wide spectrum of organisms and 2) that Chlamydomonas reinhardtii could be successfully transformed with pSP124S under certain electroporation conditions. The bioinformatics investigation revealed that analogous proteins to Human GRP 78 existed in Mus musculus (mouse), Rattus norvegicus (rat), Gallus domesticus (chicken), Gallus domesticus (chicken), Mesocricetus auratus (golden hamster), Bos taurus (cow), Xenopus laevis (frog), and Spinacia oleracea (spinach). Moreover, these homologous proteins more likely have a common evolutionary origin.

L’étude qui suit porte sur l’évaluation du risque écotoxicologique du cérium, l’élément le plus exploité de la famille des lanthanides. La présence grandissante de ce métal dans notre quotidien rend possible son relargage dans l’environnement. Il est donc primordial de comprendre l’impact qu’il aura sur les organismes vivant dans un système aquatique. Une approche centrée sur le modèle du ligand biotique a été utilisée pour évaluer adéquatement l’interaction entre le cérium et un ligand biotique à la surface de l’algue unicellulaire Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Pour mener une étude sur le risque écotoxicologique d’un élément métallique il faut, avant tout, comprendre la spéciation (répartition sous ses différentes formes chimiques) de l’élément en question. Les premières sections du mémoire vont donc traiter des expériences qui ont été menées pour évaluer la spéciation du cérium dans les conditions expérimentales d’exposition à C. reinhardtii. Il sera question de faire la distinction entre la forme particulaire du métal et sa forme dissoute, de caractériser ces changements par spectroscopie ainsi que d’évaluer le pouvoir complexant de la matière organique naturelle. Les résultats montrent une importante déplétion du métal dissout en solution à pH neutre et basique et une forte interaction avec la matière organique naturelle, peu importe le pH de la solution. Ensuite, les expériences de bioaccumulation seront expliquéesen comparant l’effet du pH, de la présence d’un ion compétiteur et de la présence de matière organique naturelle sur les paramètres d’internalisation du cérium. Les résultats indiquent qu’à pH acide, le comportement du cérium est plus prévisible qu’à pH neutre. Néanmoins, en tenant compte de la complexité des milieux naturels, l’interaction du métal avec les molécules complexantes va diminuer son risque d’interaction avec un organisme vivant. / The following study is on the ecotoxicological risk evaluation of cerium, the most widely exploited element of the lanthanide family. The increasing presence of this element in our everyday lives renders possible its release in the environment. It is therefore of primary importance to understand the impact this metal will have on living organisms in aquatic environments. An approach centered on the biotic ligand model was used here to evaluate the interaction between cerium and a biotic ligand at the surface of the unicellular algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. To study the ecotoxicological risk of a metallic element one must understand the speciation (partitioning between its multiple chemical species) of the element in question. The first chapters of this thesis will discuss the experiments performed to evaluate cerium speciation under exposure conditions C. reinhardtii. The issue will be to distinguish between the particulate and dissolved species of the metal, to characterise these changes by spectroscopy, as well as to evaluate the complex formation capacity of the metal with natural organic matter. Results indicate an important depletion of dissolved metal in neutral and alkaline solutions as well as a strong interaction with natural organic matter, regardless of solution pH. Bioaccumulation experiments will then be explained and will compare the effects of pH, the presence of competing ions and the presence of natural organic matter on cerium uptake. Results show that cerium’s behaviour is more predictable under acidic pH conditions. Nonetheless, considering the complexity of the natural environment, the interaction of the metal with natural ligands will most likely reduce the risk of cerium’s interaction with living organisms.

No description available.

Homing endonucleases (HEs) typically have one of four types of catalytic domains (LAGLIDADG, GIY-YIG, H-N-H, His-Cys), and a DNA-binding region(s) that provides specificity. I-CreII, which is encoded by the psbA4 intron from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, is unusual in containing two catalytic motifs: H-N-H and GIY-YIG. A previous study showed that I-CreII cleavage leaves 2-nt 3' OH overhangs similar to GIYYIG endonucleases, but that it also has a flexible metal requirement like H-N-H enzymes. Also, alanine substitution of several conserved residues in the GIY-YIG motif and two in the H-N-H motif did not produce a clear catalytic mutant, although some variants had strongly reduced DNA binding. Thus, in order to identify the catalytic motif, I substituted additional amino acids in both domains with alanine, and identified three histidines in the H-N-H motif that are likely to be involved in catalysis. To gain insight into how I-CreII interacts with its ~30-bp homing-site DNA, three types of DNA protection analysis were performed. Hydroxyl-radical footprinting, which reveals regions of tight DNA binding, indicated that I-CreII binds strongly to a region downstream of the cleavage and intron-insertion sites, corresponding to bp 2-10 of exon 5. There was also partial protection around the cleavage site, but only on the top strand, which is consistent with the enzyme's tendency to cleave this strand first. DNase I protection, which can reveal less closely-bound regions of target DNA, gave a larger footprint than hydroxyl-radical protection, with the additional region lying upstream of the cleavage site. These results also suggest that DNA backbone-binding downstream of the cleavage site involves sugars and phosphates, whereas upstream it is mainly with phosphates. DMS protection, which probes guanines on the N-7 position in the major groove, did not provide any evidence of major groove binding (at least not through guanines). DNase I protection could also be performed on the I-CreII variants that had reduced DNA affinity. The N161A variant was instructive in that it showed reduced protection of a T-A bp very close to the cleavage site, providing support for a catalytic role for the H-N-H motif and a possible constraint for modeling. Of the GIY-YIG motif variants, the footprint of the G231E/K245A variant was distinctly useful in that it was preferentially effected downstream of the cleavage site. This result suggested the H-N-H and GIY-YIG motifs are co-linear with their targets in the homing site. Structural modeling of the GIY-YIG domain of I-CreII using the solved I-TevI domain as template provided evidence for a unique insertion in the I-CreII structure that disrupted a catalytic α-helix; the insertion is predicted to be a positively charged, hairpinlike loop anchored by two antiparallel β-strands. I propose that this insertion can explain the evolutionary conversion of this catalytic endonuclease domain into a DNA-binding domain. These findings should also help to understand other dual-motif H-N-H/GIY-YIG endonucleases, such as I-CmoeI.

This dissertation investigates harvesting of marine microalgae for bioenergy and production of two recombinant proteins for therapeutic applications in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The first study describes harvesting of marine microalgae by flocculation using aluminum chloride (AlCl_3), natural polymer chitosan, and synthetic cationic polymers. Harvesting and concentration process of low concentration microalgae cultures ranging from 1 to 2 g dry weight per liter was affected by algogenic organic matter (AOM), ionic strength, cell concentration, polymer charge density, and media pH. Marine microalgae flocculation was greatly affected by the presence of AOM independently of the flocculant chemistry. Presence of AOM demanded extra flocculant dosage i.e., 3-fold of AlCl3, 7-fold of highly charged synthetic cationic polymer, and 10-fold of chitosan. Flocculant dosage required for > 90 % flocculation efficiency in the presence of AOM was 160 mg/L, 50 mg/L, and 20 mg/L when using AlCl_3, chitosan, and best (more efficient) synthetic polymer respectively. The high-ionic strength of saline water did not have a significant effect on flocculation efficiency when using AlCl_3. However, to achieve efficient algal biomass removal, application of highly-charged synthetic polymers was required to overcome the presence of electrolytes. The best synthetic cationic polymer tested herein, which achieved greater than 90 % flocculation efficiency at 20 mg/L dosage, was a polymer with 99 % cationic charge density. Cell concentration also affected flocculant dosage requirement; low density cultures (10^6 cells/mL) required 6-fold greater dosages than cultures grown until early stationary phase (10^7 cells/mL). The second study addresses cultivation, extraction and purification challenges of two complex recombinant proteins, an immunotoxin molecule (MT51) and malaria vaccine antigen (Pfs25) produced in the chloroplast of C. reinhardtii. Main challenges identified were i) low transgene expression level, ii) proteolytic instability of MT51 immunotoxin, and iii) aggregation of Pfs25 antigen. Optimal expression and accumulation of Pfs25 antigen required growing C. reinhardtii cultures to late exponential phase (10^6 cells/mL) and inducing transgene expression for 24 h at a photon irradiance of 120 µmol/m^2s.

The widespread occurrence among eukaryotes of sex and of mobile DNA sequences requires an evolutionary explanation, since both appear to reduce individual fitness. Both phenomena have been hypothesized to provide fitness advantages to populations, but such explanations require rather than explain the initial establishment of mobile elements and genes for sex. Genes encoding sexuality may invade asexual populations as molecular parasites, whose success then allows mobile elements to spread as parasites of sexual genomes. The prediction that mobile elements can invade only sexual populations was tested using isogenic sexual and asexual populations of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the retrotransposon Ty3. Active Ty3 elements more consistently invaded sexual than asexual populations. In subsequent experiments involving selection on media containing ethanol as a carbon source or $ beta$-glycerophosphate as a limiting phosphorus source, transposition by galactose-induced Ty3 elements produced none of the mutations involved in adaptation to these media, and conferred no adaptive advantage among competing populations. The mean copy numbers of two mobile elements were unchanged by long-term sexual or asexual propagation of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii populations, because transposition by these elements occurred very rarely or had no effect on fitness. Sexual and asexual S. cerevisiae populations did not differ in their adaptation to galactose media, but sexual populations maintained on glucose had higher growth rates on both media than did asexual populations maintained on glucose, implying that selection against deleterious mutations was more effective in sexual populations.

Algae are being considered as a possible tool for carbon dioxide mitigation because they uptake carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. Using flue gas from a coal-fired power plant as a carbon source would allow the algae to remove CO2 from the flue gas before it is emitted into the atmosphere. Because algae do not grow well at the high temperature, low pH conditions presented by flue gas, the traditional approach has been to alter the flue gas to suit the needs of the algae; however, this work aimed to genetically modify the algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to grow better at less than optimal conditions. Heat shock proteins are important in the stress responses of many organisms; therefore, this work modified C. reinhardtii to overexpress HSP70A in order to increase the tolerance of C. reinhardtii to higher temperature and lower pH. Experiments yielded mixed results, but there were several instances in which the modified algae appeared to have gained an increased tolerance to decreased pH based on the chlorophyll concentration of the algae.

Dunaliella, a genus of unicellular, biflagellate green algae, is one of the most studied microalgae for mass culture and is of commercial importance as a source of natural -carotene. Dunaliella species have the desirable properties of halotolerance and photoautotrophy that makes their large-scale culture simple and cheap using resources unsuitable for conventional agriculture. The ease and cost-effectiveness of culture makes Dunaliella a desirable target for increased production of natural compounds by metabolic engineering or for exploitation as biological factories for the synthesis of novel high-value compounds. However, the lack of efficient genetic transformation systems has been a major limitation in the manipulation of these microalgae. In chapter four we describe the development of a nuclear transformation system for Dunaliella tertiolecta. The gene encoding the phleomycin-binding protein from Streptoalloteichus hindustanus, was chosen as the selectable marker as this protein retains activity at high salt concentrations. To drive expression of the chosen selectable marker, two highly expressed Dunaliella tertiolecta RbcS genes and their associated 5' and 3' regulatory regions were isolated and characterised (chapter three). Dunaliella transformation cassettes containing the RbcS promoter and terminator regions flanking the ble antibiotic resistance gene were constructed. These expression cassettes were tested in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cells and found to drive expression of the ble gene in this heterologous system. This study also demonstrated that truncation of both the D. tertiolecta RbcS1 and RbcS2 regulatory regions significantly increases the expression of the ble gene in C. reinhardtii cells. To determine if the foreign DNA could stably integrate into the Dunaliella genome, four transformation methods: microprojectile bombardment, glass bead-mediated transformation, PEG-mediated transformation and electroporation were tested and a number of parameters varied. Southern blot analysis revealed that the plasmid DNA transiently entered the Dunaliella cells following electroporation but was rapidly degraded. Following electroporation, one stably transformed Dunaliella line was recovered. This is the first demonstration of the stable transformation of this alga. Chloroplast transformation is becoming a favoured method for the production of recombinant proteins in plants, as levels of heterologous protein are often higher than those achieved by transforming the nucleus. The Dunaliella chloroplast genome has not been genetically characterised, and thus there were no existing promoter and terminator sequences or sequences of intergenic regions that could be used for vectors in transformation of the chloroplast. Therefore, this study aimed to isolate and characterise promoters of highly expressed genes and matching terminators capable of driving transgene expression, and also to characterise intergenic regions that would be suitable insertion sites for the vector construct (chapter five). The complete gene sequence of two highly expressed Dunaliella chloroplast genes psbB and rbcL including the promoter and terminator regions as well as the coding sequence of the psbA gene were cloned and sequenced. In addition, the psbA gene is useful as a selectable marker as introduced mutations confer resistance to the herbicide 3-(3,4-Dichlorophenyl)-1,1-Dimethylurea (DCMU). Two homologous transformation constructs based on mutated psbA genes were developed and tested using microprojectile bombardment. A number of parameters were tested including: the size of the gold microprojectile particle, the distance of the plates from the point of discharge, plating onto membranes or filter paper, helium pressure, addition of an osmoticum to the medium and recovery time. Although no chloroplast transformants were recovered in this study, these homologous recombination constructs should prove useful in the development of a chloroplast transformation protocol. The other major component of this study was to investigate the use of microalgae as an expression system for the production of recombinant proteins. Transformation of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a species related to Dunaliella, is well developed. In chapter six, this study examined the expression of two human proteins, -lactalbumin and IGF-1 in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Plasmids containing the C. reinhardtii RbcS2 promoter upstream of the cDNAs of these two proteins were introduced into C. reinhardtii cells using glass-bead mediated transformation. Transgenic C. reinhardtii lines were generated and shown to contain the transgenes by PCR and Southern hybridisation. RT- PCR and northern hybridisation were subsequently used to demonstrate that the transgenes were transcriptionally active. The transcripts however, could only be detected by RT-PCR indicating that the genes were transcribed at low levels. Accumulation of the -lactalbumin protein could not be demonstrated, suggesting that although the transgenes were transcribed, they were either not translated or translated at levels below the sensitivity of western blot analysis or that any protein produced was rapidly degraded. Previous studies have indicated that in microalgae codon usage is vital in translation of the foreign protein. Codon modification of the IGF-I and -lactalbumin genes should lead to higher levels of protein accumulation. This study reports the first successful stable nuclear transformation of Dunaliella tertiolecta. Therefore it is now feasible that Dunaliella can be examined as a bioreactor for the expression of recombinant proteins. In addition, two chloroplast genes (psbB and rbcL) and their corresponding promoters and terminators have been characterised and a selectable marker cassette based on the mutated psbA gene constructed.

The aim of this master thesis was to test and compare two available methods of genetic transformation (biolistics, electroporation) of the plastid genome of green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. For biolistic transformation a wide range of experimental parameters which generally influence ptDNA transformation efficiency was optimized: physiological condition of acceptor cells, type and size of microparticles, pressure of propulsion gas (helium), length of projectile trajectory, transformation of cells directly on selective medium (containing spectinomycin 150 ?g/ml) or on nonselective medium (without spectinomycin) and form of transforming DNA. In contrast to nuclear transformation ptDNA transformation of the experimental object C. reinhardtii by means of electroporation hadn´t been described. Hence a wide range of values of different physical parameters which can significantly influence the transformation efficiency was tested.