Les ?-(1,3)-glucanes se rencontrent chez diverses espèces végétales et ont été reconnus pour leurs activités immunostimulantes chez les mammifères, ainsi que leur rôle dans le système de défense des plantes. Le premier chapitre de ce manuscrit est un rappel bibliographique sur les glycoside-hydrolases et, particulièrement sur les glycosynthases, et présente également une introduction aux "glucan-binding proteins", enzymes impliquées dans la reconnaissance des ?-glucanes, ainsi qu'un état des lieux des connaissances acquises sur les ?-(1,3)-glucanes et ?-(1,3)-gluco-oligosaccharides. Le deuxième chapitre décrit le travail réalisé au CERMAV (Grenoble), afin de disposer des outils nécessaires à l'étude des mécanismes d'action des ?-(1,3)-glucanes et des ?-(1,3)-gluco-oligosaccharides. Une méthode de synthèse de ?-(1,3)-gluco-oligosaccharides linéaires, de DP contrôlé, à l'aide de la ?-(1,3)-glucosynthase GII E231G, ainsi que la synthèse d'un substrat fluorescent destiné au dosage d'activité endo-?-(1,3)-glucanase, ont été mises au point. Le troisième chapitre traite des ?-glucan-binding proteins, et décrit le travail effectué à l'institut botanique de la LMU (Munich), dans le cadre du projet de recherche européen SACC-SIG-NET (n°HPRN-CT-2202-00251). Cette recherche concerne d'une part, l'étude de la ?-glucan-binding protein de Glycine max, et a permis de déterminer pour la première fois le mécanisme moléculaire d'hydrolyse d'une glycoside-hydrolase appartenant à la famille GH-81. D'autre part, un travail de clonage de la famille de gènes Gbps de Medicago truncatula, plante modèle pour les Fabacées, a été réalisé.

Le réseau xyloglucanes-cellulose est la structure portante de la paroi primaire des cellules végétales chez les plantes supérieures. Les interactions entre ces deux polysaccharides ont été examinées lors de travaux antérieurs, mais le manque de substrats parfaitement caractérisés limite ces études. La préparation d'une gamme de xylogluco-oligosaccharides branchés complexes par synthèse chimio-enzymatique, utilisant la glycosynthase Cel7B E197A, associée à des xyloglucanes naturels obtenus par extraction et hydrolyse enzymatique, a permis l'étude de l'influence de nombreuses caractéristiques structurales de ces hémicelluloses, sur leur capacité d'interaction avec la cellulose. Afin d'évaluer l'impact de ces paramètres, plusieurs techniques ont été mise en oeuvre. La détermination d'isothermes d'adsorption a illustré une amélioration de la capacité d'adsorption par augmentation de la masse molaire et une taille critique, à partir de laquelle l'adsorption est significative. Les résidus galactosyle et xylosyle n'ont pas montré de conséquences majeures sur ces interactions contrairement aux résidus fucosyle qui semblent favorables, bien que la variation de répartition des ramifications puisse également être en jeu. La titration calorimétrique isotherme a montré la présence de deux types de sites identifiés comme : (i) site de surface exothermique et (ii) site endothermique localisé au niveau des rainures de la cellulose, dans le cas des substrats de faible masse molaire ou à l'auto-association dans le cas des xyloglucanes natifs. Enfin, une analyse RMN du solide de composites xyloglucanes-cellulose de contraste isotopique variable a mis en évidence la conservation de la grande mobilité des chaînes latérales après adsorption ainsi qu'une absence de modification conformationnelle des signaux relatifs aux chaînes de surface de la cellulose.

<p>The aim of this work was to develop a production process for the enzyme xyloglucan <i>endo</i>-transglycosylase from <i>Populus tremula x tremuloides</i> (<i>Ptt</i>XET16-34). The natural transglycosylating activity of this enzyme has previously been employed in a XET-Technology. This chemo enzymatic method is useful for biomimetic modification of cellulose surfaces and holds great potential for industrial applications. Thus, it requires that the XET-enzyme can be produced in larger scale.</p><p>This work also shows how the wildtype <i>Ptt</i>XET16-34 was modified into a glycosynthase. By mutation of the catalytic nucleophile into an alanine, glycine or serine residue, enzymes capable of synthesising defined xyloglucan fragments were obtained. These defined compounds are very valuable for further detailed studies of xyloglucan active-enzymes, but are also useful in molecular studies of the structurally important xyloglucan-cellulose interaction.</p><p>A heterologous production system for <i>Ptt</i>XET16-34 was previously developed in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. A methanol-limited fed-batch process was also previously established, but the yield of active XET was low due to proteolysis problems and low productivity. Therefore, two alternative fed-batch techniques were investigated for the production of <i>Ptt</i>XET16-34: a temperature-limited fed-batch (TLFB) and an oxygen-limited high-pressure fed-batch (OLHPFB).</p><p>For the initial recovery of XET after the fermentation process, two different downstream processes were investigated: expanded bed adsorption (EBA) and cross-flow filtration (CFF).</p>

The aim of this work was to develop a production process for the enzyme xyloglucan endo-transglycosylase from Populus tremula x tremuloides (PttXET16-34). The natural transglycosylating activity of this enzyme has previously been employed in a XET-Technology. This chemo enzymatic method is useful for biomimetic modification of cellulose surfaces and holds great potential for industrial applications. Thus, it requires that the XET-enzyme can be produced in larger scale. This work also shows how the wildtype PttXET16-34 was modified into a glycosynthase. By mutation of the catalytic nucleophile into an alanine, glycine or serine residue, enzymes capable of synthesising defined xyloglucan fragments were obtained. These defined compounds are very valuable for further detailed studies of xyloglucan active-enzymes, but are also useful in molecular studies of the structurally important xyloglucan-cellulose interaction. A heterologous production system for PttXET16-34 was previously developed in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. A methanol-limited fed-batch process was also previously established, but the yield of active XET was low due to proteolysis problems and low productivity. Therefore, two alternative fed-batch techniques were investigated for the production of PttXET16-34: a temperature-limited fed-batch (TLFB) and an oxygen-limited high-pressure fed-batch (OLHPFB). For the initial recovery of XET after the fermentation process, two different downstream processes were investigated: expanded bed adsorption (EBA) and cross-flow filtration (CFF). / <p>QC 20101108</p>

In the post-genomic era, recognition of the importance of sugars is increasing in biological research. For the precise analysis of their functions, homogeneous materials are required. Chemical synthesis is a powerful tool for preparation of homogeneous oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates. Glycosidases are potent catalysts for this purpose because they realize high stereo- and regio- selectivities under conditions benign to biomolecules without repetitive protection/deprotection procedures. A glycosynthase is an aritificial enzyme which is derived from a glycosidase and is devised for glycosylation reaction. To suppress the mechanistically inherent oligomerization side reaction of this class of biocatalysts, a glycosidase with plastic substrate recognition was engineered to afford the first α-mannosynthase. This novel biocatalyst showed low occurrence of oligomerized products as designed and was applied to prepare a wide range of oligosaccharides. Glycosidases are also valuable tools for glycan engineering of glycoconjugates, which is a pivotal issue in the development of pharmaceutical agents, including immunoglobulin G (IgG)-based drugs. EndoS, an endo-β-N-acetylglucosaminidase from Streptococcus pyogenes, natively cleaves N-glycans on IgG specifically. When the latent glycosylation activity of this enzyme was applied, the N-glycan remodelling of full-length IgG was successfully achieved for the first time and a highly pure glycoform was obtained using the chemically synthesized oxazoline tetrasaccharide as glycosyl donor. This biocatalytic reaction allows development of a novel type of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) in which drug molecules are linked to N-glycans site-specifically. For this purpose, glycans with bioorthogonal reaction handles were synthesized and conjugated to IgG. A model reaction using a dye compound as reaction partner worked successfully and the synthetic method for this newly designed ADC was validated. Glycan trimming of glycoproteins expressed from Pichia pastoris was performed using exoglycosidases to derive homogeneous glycoform. Jack Bean α-mannosidase (JBM) trimmed native N-glycans down to the core trisaccharide structure but some of the glycoforms were discovered to be resistant to the JBM activity. Enzymatic analyses using exoglycosidases suggested that the JBM-resistant factor was likely to be β-mannoside. In summary, this work advanced application of modified glycosidases for preparation of oligosaccharides and also demonstrated biocatalytic utility of glycosidases to produce biologically relevant glycoconjugates with homogeneous glycoforms.

<p>Xyloglucans are polysaccharides found as storage polymers in seeds and tubers, and as cross-linking glycans in the cell wall of plants. Their structure is complex with intricate branching patterns, which contribute to the physical properties of the polysaccharide including its binding to and interaction with other glycans such as cellulose.</p><p>Xyloglucan is widely used in bulk quantities in the food, textile and paper making industries. With an increasing interest in technically more advanced applications of xyloglucan, such as novel biocomposites, there is a need to understand and control the properties and interactions of xyloglucan with other compounds, to decipher the relationship between xyloglucan structure and function, and in particular the effect of different branching patterns. However, due to the structural heterogeneity of the polysaccharide as obtained from natural sources, relevant studies have not been possible to perform in practise. This fact has stimulated an interest in synthetic methods to obtain xyloglucan mimics and analogs with well-defined structure and decoration patterns.</p><p>Glycosynthases are hydrolytically inactive mutant glycosidases that catalyse the formation of glycosidic linkages between glycosyl fluoride donors and glycoside acceptors. Since its first conception in 1998, the technology is emerging as a useful tool in the synthesis of large, complex polysaccharides. This thesis presents the generation and characterisation of glycosynthases based on xyloglucanase scaffolds for the synthesis of well-defined homogenous xyloglucan oligo- and polysaccharides with regular substitution patterns.</p>

This thesis presents the application of different protein engineering methods on enzymes and non-catalytic proteins that act upon xyloglucans. Xyloglucans are polysaccharides found as storage polymers in seeds and tubers, and as cross-linking glucans in the cell wall of plants. Their structure is complex with intricate branching patterns, which contribute to the physical properties of the polysaccharide including its binding to and interaction with other glucans such as cellulose. One important group of xyloglucan-active enzymes is encoded by the GH16 XTH gene family in plants, including xyloglucan endo-transglycosylases (XET) and xyloglucan endo-hydrolases (XEH). The molecular determinants behind the different catalytic routes of these homologous enzymes are still not fully understood. By combining structural data and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, interesting facts were revealed about enzyme-substrate interaction. Furthermore, a pilot study was performed using structure-guided recombination to generate a restricted library of XET/XEH chimeras. Glycosynthases are hydrolytically inactive mutant glycoside hydrolases (GH) that catalyse the formation of glycosidic linkages between glycosyl fluoride donors and glycoside acceptors. Different enzymes with xyloglucan hydrolase activity were engineered into glycosynthases, and characterised as tools for the synthesis of well-defined homogenous xyloglucan oligo- and polysaccharides with regular substitution patterns. Carbohydrate-binding modules (CBM) are non-catalytic protein domains that bind to polysaccharidic substrates. An important technical application involves their use as molecular probes to detect and localise specific carbohydrates in vivo. The three-dimensional structure of an evolved xyloglucan binding module (XGBM) was solved by X-ray diffraction. Affinity-guided directed evolution of this first generation XGBM resulted in highly specific probes that were used to localise non-fucosylated xyloglucans in plant tissue sections. / QC 20100902

Glycosidases (EC 3.2.1.) alias glycoside hydrolases are enzymes that catalyze the cleavage of a glycosidic bond between two carbohydrates or between a carbohydrate and an aglycone. Under suitable conditions (especially reduction of water activity in the reaction mixture), these enzymes are also able to synthesize a glycosidic bond. By targeted mutagenesis of the catalytic centre of the enzymes, it is possible to suppress or completely abolish their hydrolytic activity. Enzyme synthesis using glycosidases makes it possible to prepare bioactive galactosides, for example galectin ligands. The present work deals mainly with β-galactosidase from Bacillus circulans, its recombinant expression and mutagenesis. In the first part of the work, the commercially prepared plasmid of -galactosidase from B. circulans isoform A that I designed was used for recombinant expression in E. coli. It was necessary to optimize the conditions of the enzyme production. As it is a large protein (189 kDa), the expression vector pCOLD II and cold production at 15 ř C were used. The enzyme is specific for the formation of the β-1,4 glycosidic bond and has been used to synthesize complex tri- and tetrasaccharide ligands that cannot be prepared with a crude commercial preparation containing undesirable enzyme activities....

Xyloglucans are polysaccharides found as storage polymers in seeds and tubers, and as cross-linking glycans in the cell wall of plants. Their structure is complex with intricate branching patterns, which contribute to the physical properties of the polysaccharide including its binding to and interaction with other glycans such as cellulose. Xyloglucan is widely used in bulk quantities in the food, textile and paper making industries. With an increasing interest in technically more advanced applications of xyloglucan, such as novel biocomposites, there is a need to understand and control the properties and interactions of xyloglucan with other compounds, to decipher the relationship between xyloglucan structure and function, and in particular the effect of different branching patterns. However, due to the structural heterogeneity of the polysaccharide as obtained from natural sources, relevant studies have not been possible to perform in practise. This fact has stimulated an interest in synthetic methods to obtain xyloglucan mimics and analogs with well-defined structure and decoration patterns. Glycosynthases are hydrolytically inactive mutant glycosidases that catalyse the formation of glycosidic linkages between glycosyl fluoride donors and glycoside acceptors. Since its first conception in 1998, the technology is emerging as a useful tool in the synthesis of large, complex polysaccharides. This thesis presents the generation and characterisation of glycosynthases based on xyloglucanase scaffolds for the synthesis of well-defined homogenous xyloglucan oligo- and polysaccharides with regular substitution patterns.