Pyrosequencing is a DNA sequencing method based on thedetection of released pyrophosphate (PPi) during DNA synthesis.In a cascade of enzymatic reactions, visible light isgenerated, which is proportional to the number of nucleotidesincorporated into the DNA template. When dNTP(s) areincorporated into the DNA template, inorganic PPi is released.The released PPi is converted to ATP by ATP sulfurylase, whichprovides the energy to luciferase to oxidize luciferin andgenerate light. The excess of dNTP(s) and the ATP produced areremoved by the nucleotide degrading enzyme apyrase. The commercially available enzymes, isolated from nativesources, show batch-tobatch variations in activity and quality,which decrease the efficiency of the Pyrosequencing reaction.Therefore, the aim of the research presented in this thesis wasto develop methods to recombinantly produce the enzymes used inthe Pyrosequencing method. Production of the nucleotidedegrading enzyme apyrase by Pichia pastoris expression system,both in small-scale and in an optimized large-scale bioreactor,is described. ATP sulfurylase, the second enzyme in thePyrosequencing reaction, was produced inEscherichia coli. The protein was purified and utilizedin the Pyrosequencing method. Problems associated with enzymecontamination (NDP kinase) and batch-to-batch variations wereeliminated by the use of the recombinant ATP sulfurylase. As a first step towards sequencing on chip-format,SSB-(single-strand DNA binding protein)-luciferase and KlenowDNA polymerase-luciferase fusion proteins were generated inorder to immobilize the luciferase onto the DNA template. The application field for the Pyrosequencing technology wasexpanded by introduction of a new method for clone checking anda new method for template preparation prior the Pyrosequencingreaction. Keywords:apyrase, Pyrosequencing technology, Zbasictag fusion, luciferase, ATP sulfurylase, dsDNAsequencing, clone checking, Klenow-luciferase, SSB-luciferase,Pichia pastoris, Echerichia coli.

<p>Pyrosequencing is a DNA sequencing method based on thedetection of released pyrophosphate (PPi) during DNA synthesis.In a cascade of enzymatic reactions, visible light isgenerated, which is proportional to the number of nucleotidesincorporated into the DNA template. When dNTP(s) areincorporated into the DNA template, inorganic PPi is released.The released PPi is converted to ATP by ATP sulfurylase, whichprovides the energy to luciferase to oxidize luciferin andgenerate light. The excess of dNTP(s) and the ATP produced areremoved by the nucleotide degrading enzyme apyrase.</p><p>The commercially available enzymes, isolated from nativesources, show batch-tobatch variations in activity and quality,which decrease the efficiency of the Pyrosequencing reaction.Therefore, the aim of the research presented in this thesis wasto develop methods to recombinantly produce the enzymes used inthe Pyrosequencing method. Production of the nucleotidedegrading enzyme apyrase by Pichia pastoris expression system,both in small-scale and in an optimized large-scale bioreactor,is described. ATP sulfurylase, the second enzyme in thePyrosequencing reaction, was produced in<i>Escherichia coli</i>. The protein was purified and utilizedin the Pyrosequencing method. Problems associated with enzymecontamination (NDP kinase) and batch-to-batch variations wereeliminated by the use of the recombinant ATP sulfurylase.</p><p>As a first step towards sequencing on chip-format,SSB-(single-strand DNA binding protein)-luciferase and KlenowDNA polymerase-luciferase fusion proteins were generated inorder to immobilize the luciferase onto the DNA template.</p><p>The application field for the Pyrosequencing technology wasexpanded by introduction of a new method for clone checking anda new method for template preparation prior the Pyrosequencingreaction.</p><p><b>Keywords:</b>apyrase, Pyrosequencing technology, Z_basictag fusion, luciferase, ATP sulfurylase, dsDNAsequencing, clone checking, Klenow-luciferase, SSB-luciferase,<i>Pichia pastoris, Echerichia coli</i>.</p>

L’efficacité des traitements contre diverses pathologies dépend dans bien des cas de la précocité de la prise en charge des patients. Ce contexte pousse de nos jours les chercheurs à élaborer de nouvelles méthodes de diagnostic, généralement basées sur la détection de biomarqueurs spécifiques, permettant d’établir une corrélation entre un dérèglement moléculaire de l’organisme et la survenue d’une maladie. L’objectif de ces travaux était, par l’utilisation de la microfluidique digitale en gouttelettes, d’établir de nouvelles procédures simples et reproductibles, témoignant d’une sensibilité importante afin de déterminer d’infimes variations de l’état moléculaire de l’organisme à travers la recherche de biomarqueurs spécifiques. Pour cela nous avons élaboré une nouvelle gamme de tensioactifs fluorées adaptés aux applications biologiques en microfluidique digitale, ainsi que différentes stratégies d’étude des variations de l’expression de microARN extrait d’échantillons biologiques, basées respectivement sur les réactions induites par hybridation nucléotidique et sur la réaction de RT-PCR digitale. / Efficiency of treatments for various diseases depends in many cases in precocity of patient management. Nowadays, this context urges researchers to develop new methods of diagnosis, generally based on the detection of specific biomarkers. These new methods allowing to establish correlations between physiological disorders and arisen of diseases states.The aim of this study was, by the use of droplet-based microfluidic, to work out a simple and reproducible procedure, with an increased sensitivity, to determine tiny variations of physiological state through the detection of specific biomarkers. Thus, we developed a new range of fluorinated surfactants fitted to biological applications in droplet-based microfluidics as well as various strategies to study variations of microRNA expressions in a biological sample. These methods, based on DNA-template reaction and digital PCR reaction, allows performing a substantial number of simultaneous reactions in micro-compartments (microdroplets) of picolitre volumes.

Reaktionen zwischen reaktiven Oligonukleotiden, die durch komplementäre Nukleinsäuretemplate in hoher effektiver Molarität angeordnet werden, haben auf dem Gebiet der Nukleinsäurediagnostik an Bedeutung gewonnen. Sie bieten die Möglichkeit zur Erzeugung von mehreren Signalmolekülen pro Templat, wenn die templatgebundenen Produkte durch neue Reaktanden verdrängt werden. Da die Produkte ebenfalls hohe Templataffinitäten aufweisen, schränken sie jedoch die katalytische Templataktivität ein (Produktinhibierung). In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde zunächst ein neuer Ansatz zur Umgehung der Produktinhibierung entwickelt. Dazu wurde eine DNA-vermittelte PNA-Verknüpfungsreaktion in eine PCR integriert. Die Reaktion wurde direkt durch das während der PCR vervielfältigte Templat ausgelöst und erfolgreich in der einzelbasenspezifischen Genotypisierung von genomischer DNA eingesetzt. Die Nachweisgrenze war mit 30 Templatmolekülen im Vergleich zu bisherigen templatgesteuerten Reaktionen um etliche Größenordnungen niedriger. Ein alternativer Ansatz widmete sich neuen Strategien zur Verminderung der Produktinhibierung. Templatgesteuerte Verknüpfungs-Zyklisierungsreaktionen lieferten zyklische Verknüpfungsprodukte, welche gegenüber ihren linearen Pendants durch deutlich geringere Templataffinitäten gekennzeichnet waren. Daher überstiegen die Ausbeuten jene von Verknüpfungsreaktionen ohne Zyklisierung. Die Zunahme der Templataffinität in Folge der Verknüpfung wurde jedoch durch die Zyklisierung nicht vollständig kompensiert. Daher wurden templatgesteuerte Transferreakionen entwickelt, bei denen das DNA-Templat die Zyklisierung von nicht verknüpften Reaktionsprodukten steuert. Diese waren durch geringere Templataffinitäten als die linearen Reaktanden gekennzeichnet. Die Transfer-Zyklisierungsreaktionen lieferten bei fortgeschrittener Reaktion höhere Ausbeuten als Transferreaktionen ohne Zyklisierungsschritt. Dies bestätigte die erfolgreiche Verminderung der Produktinhibierung. / Reactions between reactive oligonucleotides that are aligned by complementary nucleic acid templates at high effective molarities have gained considerable attention in the field of nucleic acid diagnostics. They are capable of generating multiple signaling molecules per target, if the template-bound products are replaced by fresh reactants. However, since product molecules usually exhibit high template affinities, they impede the catalytic activity of the template (product inhibition). This work initially describes the development of a new approach that bypasses product inhibiton. To this end, a DNA-mediated PNA-ligation reaction was integrated in a PCR. The reaction was directly triggered by the template which was amplified during PCR. Furthermore, the reaction was successfully applied in single base-specific genotyping of genomic DNA. The limit of detection (30 template molecules) was several magnitudes lower compared to previous template-controlled reactions. In an alternative approach, new strategies to reduce product inhibition were developed. Template-mediated ligation-cyclization (“cycligation”) reactions generated cyclic ligation products that were characterized by significantly lower template affinities compared to their linear counterparts. The yields upon cycligation were higher than those from ligation reactions without cyclization. However, the increase in template affinity gained upon ligation of the reactants could not be completely compensated through product cyclization. Therefore, template-mediated transfer reactions were designed in which the DNA-template actuates the cyclization of non-ligated products. These were characterized by reduced template affinities compared to the linear reactants. The transfer-cyclization reactions produced higher yields than transfer reactions without a cyclization step, thereby confirming the successful reduction of product inhibition.