Les procédés de bioraffinerie, et notamment les agrocarburants, sont aujourd'hui reconnus comme essentiels pour sortir de l'économie actuelle basée sur le pétrole. Dans le cas du bioéthanol produit à partir de biomasse lignocellulosique, l'hydrolyse enzymatique par les enzymes de Trichoderma reesei est le principal point faible du procédé et doit être améliorée. Ces travaux de thèse s'intègrent dans le cadre du projet Futurol, et ont pour objectif d'identifier de nouvelles enzymes capables d'améliorer l'activité de T. reesei sur la lignocellulose. Une analyse post-génomique réalisée sur les secrétomes de vingt souches fongiques s'est révélée particulièrement prometteuse pour l'identification d'enzymes lignocellulolytiques d'intérêt. Une approche de génomique comparative a également abouti à la sélection de deux endo-mannanases de famille GH5 et GH26 chez le champignon Podospora anserina. Ces hémicellulases ont permis d'améliorer significativement la libération de glucose par T. reesei à partir d'épicéa. Une étude fondamentale approfondie a permis de résoudre les structures cristallographiques et de mettre en évidence les relations entre les spécificités enzymatiques de chaque enzyme et leurs caractéristiques structurales. La structure tridimensionnelle de la mannanase GH26 couplée à son CBM35 présente un linker court et rigide et une organisation du site actif atypique. Les deux mannanases ont également fait l'objet d'un travail d'ingénierie aléatoire qui a abouti à des variants des deux enzymes présentant une amélioration de l'efficacité catalytique et/ou une modification de spécificité. / Biorefineries such as biofuels are nowadays considered as essential to reduce our dependence on oil products. In the production process of bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomass, enzymatic hydrolysis performed by Trichoderma reesei enzymes is the main bottleneck of the process and requires improvements.The present work is part of the Futurol project, and aims at identifying new enzymes to improve the activity of T. reesei toward lignocellulose. Post-genomic analyses on twenty fungal strains have revealed the potential of this approach to identify lignocellulolytic enzymes of interest. Comparative genomics also led to the selection of two endo-mannanases from families GH5 and GH26 from the fungus Podospora anserina. These hemicellulases significantly improved glucose release upon T. reesei hydrolysis of spruce. An in-depth fondamental study allowed the solving of cristallographic structures and revealed the relationships between enzymatic specificities and structural characteristics. The structure of GH26 catalytic module appended to CBM35 highlighted a short and rigid linker and an atypical active site organization. The two mannanases were subjected to molecular engineering. Variants displaying improved catalytic efficiency and/or modified specificity were identified for both enzymes.

No tubo digestivo das larvas de Anastrepha fraterculus e Anastrepha pickeli há β-glicosidases capazes de clivar dissacarideos, β-glicosídeos tóxicos produzidos por plantas e substratos sintéticos. As β-glicosidases de A. fraterculus são pouco ativas e as de A. pickeli são bastante ativas sobre alguns compostos, entre eles linamarina, um glicosídeo cianogênico. Esse composto está presente, em altas concentrações, no fruto da mandioca do qual a larva se alimenta. A. fraterculus alimenta-se do fruto da goiaba e aparentemente consegue o carboidrato que necessita por ação de α-glicosidases, que são bem mais ativas do que as β. O fruto da mandioca não é tão nutritivo e A. pickeli deve aproveitar a glicose da linamarina para obter energia e consegue desintoxicar-se do aglicone tóxico. Rhynchosciara americana apresenta quatro β-glicosidases nas membranas microvilares intestinais, sendo três delas β-galactosidases. Dessas, duas são ativadas por Triton X-100 sendo que a glicosidase, de maior mobilidade eletroforética é ativada por este composto, com uma Ka de 4µM, um α de 0,5 e um β de 2. β-tioglicosidases foram demonstradas em afideos. Nós verificamos que ocorre a clivagem do tioglicosídeo sinigrina após separação das β-glicosidases digestivas do Lepidoptera Diatraea saccharalis por cromatografia hidrofóbica. Nesse inseto, a mesma enzima é capaz de clivar O- e S-glicosídeos com atividades semelhantes. Enzimas com essas características nunca foram descritas anteriormente. Esses experimentos ilustram a viabilidade das adaptações dos insetos na utilização de compostos formados for ligações β-glicosídicas, viabilizando a exploração de nutrientes normalmente inacessíveis a outros animais. / Anastrepha fraterculus and Anastrepha pickeli have in their midguts 13-glycosidases able to hydrolase dissaccharides, synthetic substrate and plant toxic β-glucosides. β-glycosidases from A. fraterculus have low activity and the enzymes from A. pickeli may be highly active depending on the substrate used. Linamarin, a cyanogenic β-glucoside present in A. pickeli food (Manihot fruit) is easly hydrolysed by A. pickeli β-glycosidases (A. fraterculus eats on guava fruits and may obtain carbohydrate through the action of α-glycosidases, that are much more active them the β-glycosidases). A. pickeli probably uses glucose derived from linamarinan avoiding the effects of the toxic aglycon. Rhynchosciara americana has 4 β-glycosidases (3 galactosidases and I glucosidase) in their intestinal microvilar membranes. Two of these enzymes are activated by Triton X-100. In β glucosidase the activation has Ka= 4µM, α=0,5 e β=2. β-thioglycosidases occur in Aphids. One digestive β-glucosidase from Diatraea saccharalis resolved by hydrofobic chrornatography hydrolyses sinigrin. The same enzyme may hydrolyse O- and S-glucosides with the same efficienly. Enzymes with this specificity have never been described before. In this study we shown some adaptations of insects to use substrates with β-glycosidic bonds, allowing these organisrns to explore nutrients usualy avoided by other animals.

A importância do estudo das celulases não se limita à aquisição de conhecimento científico, mas também ao grande potencial biotecnológico que elas representam. Isso se deve ao fato da celulose ser a molécula mais abundante presente na natureza e prover uma vasta gama de produtos e processos sustentáveis. Muitas famílias de celulases já foram bem caracterizadas, enquanto outras permanecem ainda desconhecidas. Dentre estas últimas, a família 45 das hidrolases de glicosídeos é a família de celulases fúngicas menos caracterizada tanto estruturalmente quanto funcionalmente. Recentemente foi proposta a divisão dessa família em três subfamílias e, até agora, apenas membros da subfamília A tiveram enzimas estruturalmente elucidadas. Nesse trabalho reportamos a estrutura cristalográfica da proteína recombinante endoglucanase de Phanerochaete chrysosporium (PcCel45A), a primeira das hidrolases de glicosídeos da subfamília C, e seu complexo com celobiose a 1,4 Å e 1,7 Å de resolução, respectivamente. A PcCel45A é uma enzima de domínio único, com uma estrutura em β-barril e seu empacotamento geral remete ao formato de âncora. O sítio ativo da enzima forma um longo sulco na superfície da estrutura, sendo que o seu centro catalítico é diferente das outras enzimas publicadas dessa família e o aspartato catalítico, que atua como aceptor de próton na reação de inversão, (Asp10) não é conservado. Adicionalmente, a estrutura cristalográfica dessa enzima apresenta mais similaridades com as β-expansinas (proteínas de plantas) e transglicosilases líticas (proteínas que clivam o peptidoglicano de bactérias) do que com as outras representantes da família 45, o que a torna ainda mais singular. Para entendermos melhor seu funcionamento foram realizadas mutações sítio-dirigidas nos principais resíduos do sítio ativo. O Asp121, conhecido por participar da reação de inversão das outras enzimas da família como doador de próton, mostrou-se essencial para a atividade da enzima, enquanto que outros resíduos conservados como a Tyr25, o Trp161 e o Asp92 afetaram, mas não aniquilaram a atividade da enzima, apresentando aproximadamente 20%, 50% e 10% da atividade da enzima nativa, respectivamente. / The importance of the study of the cellulases is not limited to generating significant scientific knowledge, since these enzymes represents an enormous potential in biotechnology. This is partly because cellulose is the most abundant molecule in nature and provides a wide range of products and sustainable process. Many cellulases families have been well characterized, while others still remain unknown. Among them, the glycoside hydrolase family 45 is the least well characterized both structurally and functionally, between fungal cellulases. It was recently proposed the subdivision of this family into three subfamilies, with structural information available only for subfamily A. In this work, we report the chrystallographic structure of the recombinant endoglucanase from Phanerochaete chrysosporium (PcCel45A), the first GH45 subfamily C and its complex with cellobiose at 1.4 Å and 1.7 Å respectively. The PcCel45A is a single domain enzyme, which has a β-barrel structure with the overall shape resembling an anchor. The active site of the enzyme has a long cleft on the surface, being remarkably different from those members of subfamily A, and the catalytic aspartate responsible for acting as proton acceptor (Asp10) is not present. Additionally, the chrystallographic structure of this enzyme has shown more similarity with β -expansins (plant proteins) and lytic transglycosylase (proteins that cleave the peptidoglycan of bacteria) than others representants of family 45, which makes it more singular. For a better understanding of its function, we perform pontual mutations in the main residues from active site. The Asp121, known for acting as proton acceptor in the inversion reaction of others enzymes, proved to be essential for the enzyme activity, while others conserved residues as Tyr25, Trp161 and Asp92 affected but not annihilated the enzyme activity, leaving approximately 20%, 50% and 10% of the native enzyme activity.

Renewable fibers produced by forest trees provide excellentraw material of high economic value for industrialapplications. Despite this, the genes and corresponding enzymesinvolved in wood fiber biosynthesis in trees are poorlycharacterized. This thesis describes a functional genomicsapproach for the identification of carbohydrate-active enzymesinvolved in secondary cell wall (wood) formation in hybridaspen. First, a 3' target amplification method was developed toenable microarray-based gene expression analysis on minuteamounts of RNA. The amplification method was evaluated usingboth a smaller microarray containing 192 cDNA clones and alarger microarray containing 2995 cDNA clones that werehybridized with targets isolated from xylem and phloem.Moreover, a gene expression study of phloem differentiation wasperformed to show the usefulness of the amplificationmethod. A microarray containing 2995 cDNA clones representing aunigene set of a cambial region EST library was used to studygene expression during wood formation. Transcript populationsfrom thin tissue sections representing different stages ofxylem development were hybridized onto the microarrays. It wasdemonstrated that genes encoding lignin and cellulosebiosynthetic enzymes, as well as a number of genes withoutassigned function, were differentially expressed across thedevelopmental gradient. Microarrays were also used to track changes in geneexpression in the developing xylem of transgenic, GA-20 oxidaseoverexpressing hybrid aspens that had increased secondarygrowth. The study revealed that a number of genes encoding cellwall related enzymes were upregulated in the transgenic trees.Moreover, most genes with high transcript changes could beassigned a role in the early events of xylogenesis. Ten genes encoding putative cellulose synthases (CesAs) wereidentified in our ownPopulusESTdatabase. Full length cDNA sequences wereobtained for five of them. Expression analyses performed withreal-time PCR and microarrays in normal wood undergoingxylogenesis and in tension wood revealed xylem specificexpression of four putative CesA isoenzymes. Finally, an approach combining expressionprofiling,bioinformatics as well as EST and full length sequencing wasadopted to identify secondary cell wall related genes encodingcarbohydrate-active enzymes, such as glycosyltransferases andglycoside hydrolases. As expected, glycosyltransferasesinvolved in the carbohydrate biosynthesis dominated thecollection of the secondary cell wall related enzymes that wereidentified. Key words:Populus, xylogenesis, secondary cell wall,cellulose, hemicellulose, microarrays, transcript profiling,carbohydrate-active enzyme, glycosyltransferase, glycosidehydrolase

<p>Renewable fibers produced by forest trees provide excellentraw material of high economic value for industrialapplications. Despite this, the genes and corresponding enzymesinvolved in wood fiber biosynthesis in trees are poorlycharacterized. This thesis describes a functional genomicsapproach for the identification of carbohydrate-active enzymesinvolved in secondary cell wall (wood) formation in hybridaspen.</p><p>First, a 3' target amplification method was developed toenable microarray-based gene expression analysis on minuteamounts of RNA. The amplification method was evaluated usingboth a smaller microarray containing 192 cDNA clones and alarger microarray containing 2995 cDNA clones that werehybridized with targets isolated from xylem and phloem.Moreover, a gene expression study of phloem differentiation wasperformed to show the usefulness of the amplificationmethod.</p><p>A microarray containing 2995 cDNA clones representing aunigene set of a cambial region EST library was used to studygene expression during wood formation. Transcript populationsfrom thin tissue sections representing different stages ofxylem development were hybridized onto the microarrays. It wasdemonstrated that genes encoding lignin and cellulosebiosynthetic enzymes, as well as a number of genes withoutassigned function, were differentially expressed across thedevelopmental gradient.</p><p>Microarrays were also used to track changes in geneexpression in the developing xylem of transgenic, GA-20 oxidaseoverexpressing hybrid aspens that had increased secondarygrowth. The study revealed that a number of genes encoding cellwall related enzymes were upregulated in the transgenic trees.Moreover, most genes with high transcript changes could beassigned a role in the early events of xylogenesis.</p><p>Ten genes encoding putative cellulose synthases (CesAs) wereidentified in our own<i>Populus</i>ESTdatabase. Full length cDNA sequences wereobtained for five of them. Expression analyses performed withreal-time PCR and microarrays in normal wood undergoingxylogenesis and in tension wood revealed xylem specificexpression of four putative CesA isoenzymes.</p><p>Finally, an approach combining expressionprofiling,bioinformatics as well as EST and full length sequencing wasadopted to identify secondary cell wall related genes encodingcarbohydrate-active enzymes, such as glycosyltransferases andglycoside hydrolases. As expected, glycosyltransferasesinvolved in the carbohydrate biosynthesis dominated thecollection of the secondary cell wall related enzymes that wereidentified.</p><p><b>Key words:</b>Populus, xylogenesis, secondary cell wall,cellulose, hemicellulose, microarrays, transcript profiling,carbohydrate-active enzyme, glycosyltransferase, glycosidehydrolase</p>

The central dogma of molecular biology outlines the process of information transfer from a DNA sequence, to a protein chain. Beyond the step of protein synthesis, there are a variety of post-translational modifications that can take place, one of which is addition of carbohydrate chains to nascent proteins, known as glycosylation. The N-linked glycosylation pathway is responsible for the covalent attachment of multifunctional carbohydrate chains on asparagine residues of nascent proteins at Asn-X-Ser/Thr consensus sequences. These carbohydrate chains are thought to aid in cell signaling, immune recognition, and other processes. Golgi alpha-mannosidase II (GMII) is the enzyme in the N-glycosylation pathway that is responsible for cleaving two mannose linkages in the oligosaccharide GnMan5Gn2 (where Gn is N-acetylglucosamine and Man is mannose), thereby producing GnMan3Gn2 , which is the committed step in complex N-glycan synthesis. It has been speculated that GMII is an excellent therapeutic target for cancer treatment, as the unusual distribution of carbohydrates on the surface of tumour cells has been characterized in many cancers. In addition, swainsonine-—a strong, yet nonspecific inhibitor of GMII—-has been shown to block metastasis and improve the clinical outcome of patients with certain cancers, including those of the colon, breast and skin. This thesis examines Golgi alpha-mannosidase II from Drosophila melanogaster (dGMII) as a model for all GMII enzymes. First, a 1.80 Angstrom resolution crystal structure of a weak inhibitor, kifunensine, binding to dGMII provides mechanistic insights into the substrate distortion in the GMII reaction. It is hypothesized that the GMII reaction proceeds via a 1 Sinterintermedi-ate. Second, a 1.40 Angstrom resolution structure of a mutant dGMII bound to its natural substrate, GnMan5Gn, identifies key substrate binding and catalytic residues, as well as expanding the definition of the GMII active site to include two distant sugar−binding subsites. Finally, the results are taken together, with knowledge of other related enzymes to synthesize a plausible itinerary for the GMII reaction.

The central dogma of molecular biology outlines the process of information transfer from a DNA sequence, to a protein chain. Beyond the step of protein synthesis, there are a variety of post-translational modifications that can take place, one of which is addition of carbohydrate chains to nascent proteins, known as glycosylation. The N-linked glycosylation pathway is responsible for the covalent attachment of multifunctional carbohydrate chains on asparagine residues of nascent proteins at Asn-X-Ser/Thr consensus sequences. These carbohydrate chains are thought to aid in cell signaling, immune recognition, and other processes. Golgi alpha-mannosidase II (GMII) is the enzyme in the N-glycosylation pathway that is responsible for cleaving two mannose linkages in the oligosaccharide GnMan5Gn2 (where Gn is N-acetylglucosamine and Man is mannose), thereby producing GnMan3Gn2 , which is the committed step in complex N-glycan synthesis. It has been speculated that GMII is an excellent therapeutic target for cancer treatment, as the unusual distribution of carbohydrates on the surface of tumour cells has been characterized in many cancers. In addition, swainsonine-—a strong, yet nonspecific inhibitor of GMII—-has been shown to block metastasis and improve the clinical outcome of patients with certain cancers, including those of the colon, breast and skin. This thesis examines Golgi alpha-mannosidase II from Drosophila melanogaster (dGMII) as a model for all GMII enzymes. First, a 1.80 Angstrom resolution crystal structure of a weak inhibitor, kifunensine, binding to dGMII provides mechanistic insights into the substrate distortion in the GMII reaction. It is hypothesized that the GMII reaction proceeds via a 1 Sinterintermedi-ate. Second, a 1.40 Angstrom resolution structure of a mutant dGMII bound to its natural substrate, GnMan5Gn, identifies key substrate binding and catalytic residues, as well as expanding the definition of the GMII active site to include two distant sugar−binding subsites. Finally, the results are taken together, with knowledge of other related enzymes to synthesize a plausible itinerary for the GMII reaction.

A importância do estudo das celulases não se limita à aquisição de conhecimento científico, mas também ao grande potencial biotecnológico que elas representam. Isso se deve ao fato da celulose ser a molécula mais abundante presente na natureza e prover uma vasta gama de produtos e processos sustentáveis. Muitas famílias de celulases já foram bem caracterizadas, enquanto outras permanecem ainda desconhecidas. Dentre estas últimas, a família 45 das hidrolases de glicosídeos é a família de celulases fúngicas menos caracterizada tanto estruturalmente quanto funcionalmente. Recentemente foi proposta a divisão dessa família em três subfamílias e, até agora, apenas membros da subfamília A tiveram enzimas estruturalmente elucidadas. Nesse trabalho reportamos a estrutura cristalográfica da proteína recombinante endoglucanase de Phanerochaete chrysosporium (PcCel45A), a primeira das hidrolases de glicosídeos da subfamília C, e seu complexo com celobiose a 1,4 &Aring; e 1,7 &Aring; de resolução, respectivamente. A PcCel45A é uma enzima de domínio único, com uma estrutura em &beta;-barril e seu empacotamento geral remete ao formato de âncora. O sítio ativo da enzima forma um longo sulco na superfície da estrutura, sendo que o seu centro catalítico é diferente das outras enzimas publicadas dessa família e o aspartato catalítico, que atua como aceptor de próton na reação de inversão, (Asp10) não é conservado. Adicionalmente, a estrutura cristalográfica dessa enzima apresenta mais similaridades com as &beta;-expansinas (proteínas de plantas) e transglicosilases líticas (proteínas que clivam o peptidoglicano de bactérias) do que com as outras representantes da família 45, o que a torna ainda mais singular. Para entendermos melhor seu funcionamento foram realizadas mutações sítio-dirigidas nos principais resíduos do sítio ativo. O Asp121, conhecido por participar da reação de inversão das outras enzimas da família como doador de próton, mostrou-se essencial para a atividade da enzima, enquanto que outros resíduos conservados como a Tyr25, o Trp161 e o Asp92 afetaram, mas não aniquilaram a atividade da enzima, apresentando aproximadamente 20%, 50% e 10% da atividade da enzima nativa, respectivamente. / The importance of the study of the cellulases is not limited to generating significant scientific knowledge, since these enzymes represents an enormous potential in biotechnology. This is partly because cellulose is the most abundant molecule in nature and provides a wide range of products and sustainable process. Many cellulases families have been well characterized, while others still remain unknown. Among them, the glycoside hydrolase family 45 is the least well characterized both structurally and functionally, between fungal cellulases. It was recently proposed the subdivision of this family into three subfamilies, with structural information available only for subfamily A. In this work, we report the chrystallographic structure of the recombinant endoglucanase from Phanerochaete chrysosporium (PcCel45A), the first GH45 subfamily C and its complex with cellobiose at 1.4 &Aring; and 1.7 &Aring; respectively. The PcCel45A is a single domain enzyme, which has a &beta;-barrel structure with the overall shape resembling an anchor. The active site of the enzyme has a long cleft on the surface, being remarkably different from those members of subfamily A, and the catalytic aspartate responsible for acting as proton acceptor (Asp10) is not present. Additionally, the chrystallographic structure of this enzyme has shown more similarity with &beta; -expansins (plant proteins) and lytic transglycosylase (proteins that cleave the peptidoglycan of bacteria) than others representants of family 45, which makes it more singular. For a better understanding of its function, we perform pontual mutations in the main residues from active site. The Asp121, known for acting as proton acceptor in the inversion reaction of others enzymes, proved to be essential for the enzyme activity, while others conserved residues as Tyr25, Trp161 and Asp92 affected but not annihilated the enzyme activity, leaving approximately 20%, 50% and 10% of the native enzyme activity.

Les oomycètes représentent un groupe de microorganismes eucaryotes filamenteux distincts phylogénétiquement des champignons incluant de nombreuses espèces phytopathogènes. CBEL est une glycoprotéine pariétale de Phytophthora parasitica constituée d'une répétition de deux régions séparées par un linker. Chaque région protéique est constituée d'un domaine protéique de liaison à la cellulose (CBM1) et un motif PAN /Apple impliqué dans des interactions protéines-protéines ou protéines-polysaccharides. Cette étude doctorale porte sur la caractérisation de la protéine CBEL et plus particulièrement de ses CBM1s ainsi que sur l'évaluation et optimisation du potentiel de cette protéine à : (i) stimuler les défenses naturelles des plantes (ii) augmenter l'activité de glycosides hydrolases. Dans la première partie de ce travail doctoral différents tests visant à reproduire un traitement éliciteur externe sur plante entière ont pour cela été développés. Ces tests ont permis de mettre en évidence que formulée en présence de surfactants CBEL est capable d'induire diverses réponses de défense chez A. thaliana. Une production en masse de cette protéine a été réalisée dans la levure Pichia pastoris et la bactérie Escherichia coli dans l'optique d'une future application agronomique. Les protéines recombinantes CBELcol et CBELpic produite dans ces différents systèmes d'expression présentent des profils de glycosylation différents de celui de la protéine native CBELnat. Alors que ces protéines semblent se lier de manière identique à la cellulose les différents tests d'élicitation développés au cours de ce travail mettent en évidence des variations dans leur activité élicitrice suggérant que la nature des résidus glucidiques présents sur cette glycoprotéine peut avoir un impact sur sa capacité induire des réponses de défenses en application externe. Lors de la deuxième partie de ce travail de thèse la capacité de CBEL à interagir avec différents substrats cellulosiques a été caractérisée. Les résultats obtenus ont permis de montrer que CBEL se lie avec une haute affinité à la cellulose cristalline avicel et que la présence de CBM1 fonctionnels est nécessaire à cette interaction. De manière intéressante, le CBM1-1 et CBM1-2 ne semblent pas contribuer de manière égale à cette interaction. Par ailleurs la laison de CBEL à la cellulose induit des perturbations structurales sur le substrat et permet d'améliorer l'activité de la xylanase XynB de Talaromyces versatilis sur paille de blé. En outre une xylanase chimère possédant dans sa séquence le CBM1-1 de CBEL possède également une activité augmentée sur paille blé. L'ensemble de ces résultats met en évidence le potentiel de CBEL et de son CBM1-1 pour l'amélioration de l'activité de glycoside hydrolases utilisables par exemple en bioraffinerie. En dernier lieu un travail de caractérisation structurale de la protéine CBEL a également été entamé au cours de cette étude. L'enveloppe de la protéine CBEL en solution à notamment été déterminée par SAXS (Small Angle X-ray Scattering) et un modèle 3D de cette protéine a été obtenu. / Oomycetes are fungal like microorganisms evolutionary distinct from true fungi that include pathogens of plants. CBEL is a cell wall glycoprotein isolated from the oomycete Phytophthora parasitica that is composed of two distinct regions linked by a threonine/proline rich linker. Each region owns a cellulose binding module (CBM1) and a PAN-Apple domain involved in protein-protein or proteins-polysaccharides interactions. Since CBEL is able to induce defense responses in numerous plant species, its use for the development of products able to protect crops has been envisaged. For this purpose we analysed the effect of an external CBEL treatment on plants. We found that in the presence of surfactants CBEL is able to induce cytosolic calcium changes, defense gene expression, and cell death on A. thaliana. CBEL application for crop protection requires the development of economically reliable production processes. In the case of proteinaceous elicitors, an attractive strategy to obtain large amount of elicitors is to express them in heterologous hosts such as bacteria or yeasts. CBELcol and CBELpic were produced respectively in E. coli and in P. pastoris. CBELcol is unglycosylated whereas CBELpic displays a glycosylation profile distinct from the native protein (CBELnat). We found that all these proteins are able to bind crystalline cellulose. On the other side we found that the elicitor activity of CBELpic is distinct from CBELnat and CBELcol suggesting that the glycosylation on CBEL can have an impact on its ability to induce plant defense responses after external treatment on A. thaliana. In the second part of this work the two CBMs (1-1 and 1-2) that form part of CBEL have been submitted to detailed characterization, first to better quantify their interaction with cellulose and second to determine whether these CBMs can be useful for biotechnological applications, such as biomass hydrolysis. A variety of biophysical techniques were used to study the interaction of the CBMs with various substrates and the data obtained clearly indicate that CBEL's CBM1-1 exhibits much greater cellulose binding ability than CBM1-2. Engineering of the family 11 xylanase from Talaromyces versatilis (TvXynB), an enzyme that naturally bears a family 1 CBM, has produced two variants. The first one lacks a CBM, whereas the second contains the CBEL CBM1-1 in the place of the natural CBM1. The study of these enzymes has revealed that wild type TvXynB binds to cellulose, probably via its CBM1, and that the substitution of its CBM by oomycetal CBM1-1 does not affect its activity on this substrate. Moreover, the presence of CBEL during the hydrolysis of wheat straw actually potentiates the action of TvXynB, a result that is consistent with the hypothesis that CBM1-1 can alter cellulose surface fibres rather like some other members of CBM family 1.

No tubo digestivo das larvas de Anastrepha fraterculus e Anastrepha pickeli há &#946;-glicosidases capazes de clivar dissacarideos, &#946;-glicosídeos tóxicos produzidos por plantas e substratos sintéticos. As &#946;-glicosidases de A. fraterculus são pouco ativas e as de A. pickeli são bastante ativas sobre alguns compostos, entre eles linamarina, um glicosídeo cianogênico. Esse composto está presente, em altas concentrações, no fruto da mandioca do qual a larva se alimenta. A. fraterculus alimenta-se do fruto da goiaba e aparentemente consegue o carboidrato que necessita por ação de &#945;-glicosidases, que são bem mais ativas do que as &#946;. O fruto da mandioca não é tão nutritivo e A. pickeli deve aproveitar a glicose da linamarina para obter energia e consegue desintoxicar-se do aglicone tóxico. Rhynchosciara americana apresenta quatro &#946;-glicosidases nas membranas microvilares intestinais, sendo três delas &#946;-galactosidases. Dessas, duas são ativadas por Triton X-100 sendo que a glicosidase, de maior mobilidade eletroforética é ativada por este composto, com uma Ka de 4&#181;M, um &#945; de 0,5 e um &#946; de 2. &#946;-tioglicosidases foram demonstradas em afideos. Nós verificamos que ocorre a clivagem do tioglicosídeo sinigrina após separação das &#946;-glicosidases digestivas do Lepidoptera Diatraea saccharalis por cromatografia hidrofóbica. Nesse inseto, a mesma enzima é capaz de clivar O- e S-glicosídeos com atividades semelhantes. Enzimas com essas características nunca foram descritas anteriormente. Esses experimentos ilustram a viabilidade das adaptações dos insetos na utilização de compostos formados for ligações &#946;-glicosídicas, viabilizando a exploração de nutrientes normalmente inacessíveis a outros animais. / Anastrepha fraterculus and Anastrepha pickeli have in their midguts 13-glycosidases able to hydrolase dissaccharides, synthetic substrate and plant toxic &#946;-glucosides. &#946;-glycosidases from A. fraterculus have low activity and the enzymes from A. pickeli may be highly active depending on the substrate used. Linamarin, a cyanogenic &#946;-glucoside present in A. pickeli food (Manihot fruit) is easly hydrolysed by A. pickeli &#946;-glycosidases (A. fraterculus eats on guava fruits and may obtain carbohydrate through the action of &#945;-glycosidases, that are much more active them the &#946;-glycosidases). A. pickeli probably uses glucose derived from linamarinan avoiding the effects of the toxic aglycon. Rhynchosciara americana has 4 &#946;-glycosidases (3 galactosidases and I glucosidase) in their intestinal microvilar membranes. Two of these enzymes are activated by Triton X-100. In &#946; glucosidase the activation has Ka= 4&#181;M, &#945;=0,5 e &#946;=2. &#946;-thioglycosidases occur in Aphids. One digestive &#946;-glucosidase from Diatraea saccharalis resolved by hydrofobic chrornatography hydrolyses sinigrin. The same enzyme may hydrolyse O- and S-glucosides with the same efficienly. Enzymes with this specificity have never been described before. In this study we shown some adaptations of insects to use substrates with &#946;-glycosidic bonds, allowing these organisrns to explore nutrients usualy avoided by other animals.