The current energy crisis is exponentially growing and widening the chasm between demand and supply. Biofuels such as ethanol not only provide greener alternatives to fossil fuels but have been shown to reduce emissions from vehicles, improving air etc. Biofuel production from sources such as cellulose is believed to be more sustainable due to its low cost, vast availability in nature and sources such as industrial plant waste can be put to good use. However, due to the absence of a low-cost technology to overcome its recalcitrance, a concept called Consolidated Bioprocessing (CBP) has been put forward which proposes to integrate the production of saccharolytic enzymes, hydrolysis of the carbohydrate components to sugar molecules, and the fermentation of hexose and pentose sugars to biofuels into a single process. The present study involves development of cellulolytic E. coli strains towards cellodextrin assimilation by employing an energy-saving strategy in cellulose metabolism through the phosphorolytic cleavage of cellodextrin mixture produced as cellulosic degradation products.

Cette thèse concerne le développement d’approches spectroscopiques infrarouge et Raman exaltées de surface: la spectroscopie infrarouge exaltée de surface (SEIRAS) combinée avec une cellule de perfusion et la spectroscopie Raman exaltée de surface (SERS) couplée avec l’électrochimie. Dans le cadre du premier projet, différentes protéines ont été étudiées : lactose perméase (LacY), complexe I et IM30. Nous avons déterminé le pKa de Glu325 dans LacY sauvage et dans différents mutants portant des mutations dans le centre actif de translocation des protons. Sauvage complexe I a été oxydé avec différents agents oxydants et réduit avec NADH. Spectres différentiels correspondants ont été analysés. Des changements conformationnels dans la protéine IM30, induits par la présence des ions Mg2+, ont été observés.Dans le cadre du deuxième projet, une cellule spectroélectrochimique contenant une grille d’or a été adaptée pour étudier des protéines redox actives. Cette grille d’or sert à la fois de substrat SERS et d’électrode de travail. Cyt c, Hb et Mb ont d'abord été utilisés pour valider la configuration, puis l'approche a été étendue pour étudier une protéine membranaire. / This thesis concerns the development of surface-enhanced infrared and Raman spectroscopic approaches: surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRAS) combined with perfusion cell and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) combined with electrochemistry. Within the first project different proteins were studied: Lactose Permease (LacY), complex I and IM30.The pKa of Glu325 in LacY WT and in different mutants carrying mutations in the proton translocation active center was determined. WT complex I was oxidized with different oxidizing agents and reduced with NADH. Corresponding redox-induced conformational changes were studied. The evidence was given that Mg2+ ions induce conformational changes in the protein IM30.Within the second project the spectroelectrochemical cell containing gold grid electrode was adopted for the studies of redox active proteins. This gold grid serves both as working electrode and as SERS active substrate. First Cyt c, Hb and Mb were used to validate the setup and then the approach was extended to study a membrane protein.