Researcher CNRS

Chargée de Recherche CNRS, HDR

BROWN ALGAL GLYCANS

Seaweed can play a strategic role in the development of the Blue Economy and in meeting the global challenges such as climate change, food shortages, and rising demands for natural bioactive compounds. In this context, brown algae represent a rich but underutilised biomass.

Brown algae evolve in dynamic ecosystems, and to thrive in such habitats they exhibit large plasticity in terms of metabolic responses, including in their constitutive glycans. The main glycans of brown algae are components of their extracellular matrices (ECMs) or cell walls, with essentially alginates and fucans/fucoidans, and storage polysaccharides with laminarins. ECM polysaccharides affect algal development in various ways, including cell development, communication between cells and defense responses. Recently fucans/fucoidans were recognised as significant actors in carbon sequestration. Besides, their derived oligosaccharides have strong potential as nutraceuticals.

Cultivation and uses of brown algae are anticipated to expand in the near future, yet their basic primary metabolism is scarcely known, and this is particularly true for the biosynthesis and remodelling of their polysaccharides. Only recently have algal genomic resources allowed us to annotate and predict candidate genes but no functional validation has been performed yet. Additionally, the fine-tuning of glycan structures and their location in developing tissues are largely unknown.

My research interests are focused on brown algal polysaccharides, with three specific objectives:

Objective 1 “Diversity”: Investigating in great-detail the chemical diversity and dynamics of brown algal polysaccharides.

Objective 2 “Metabolism”: Determining the complete biosynthetic, remodelling and degrading pathways of brown algal glycans, with the specific understanding of the 3D-structure/function and evolutionary relationship of major enzymes.

Objective 3 “Functions”: Exploring the roles of glycans in algal physiological responses. Correlations between glycan structures and their physiological roles are also investigated.

METHODS

Bioinformatic analyses of transcriptomic/genomic data

Extraction, fractionation and analytical chemistry of polysaccharides

Production of recombinant proteins in prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems

Biochemical and structural analyses of enzymes

Monoclonal antibody generation and cell culture

Immunohistochemistry and imaging

 

SERVICE

We maintain the cell lines producing the Brown Algal Monoclonal (BAM) antibodies against sulfated fucans/fucoidans (BAM1-4) and alginates (BAM6-11).

Our monoclonal antibodies are available for use through SeaProbes.

 


PEOPLE

Alice Petrau (PhD student)

Ahlem Bouguerba (PhD student)

Ambre Gautier (lab technician)

Mélinda Oiry (lab technician)

Murielle Jam (lab technician)

 

former -Lisa Mazéas (PhD student)

former -Sonia Kridi (lab technician)

former -Kevin Hardouin (post-doctoral fellow)

former -Amandine Siméon (PhD student)

former -Delphine Duffieux (lab technician)

LAST UPDATE 26/11/2024

 

 

Publications

A SELECTION IS SHOWN

For a more detailed list, see ORCID: 0000-0001-6649-8137 or Google Scholar.

Ropartz D, Lissarrague A, Jam M, Jouanneau D, Le Gall S, Annic B, Fanuel M, Krueger-Hadfield SA, Valéro M, Czjzek M, Rogniaux H, Hervé C (2025). Exploration of the extracellular matrix of the red alga Chondrus crispus reveals unprecedented insights into carrageenan structures. Carbohydrate Polymers 348:122737. DOI

Mazéas L, Bouguerba-Collin A, Cock JM, Denoeud F, Godfroy O, Brillet-Guéguen L, Barbeyron T, Lipinska AP, Delage L, Corre E, Dural E, Henrissat B, Czjzek M, Terrapon N, Hervé C. (2024). Candidate genes involved in biosynthesis and degradation of the main extracellular matrix polysaccharides of brown algae and their probable evolutionary history. BMC Genomics 25:950. DOI

Mazéas L, Yonamine R, Barbeyron T, Henrissat B, Drula E, Terrapon N, Nagasato C and Hervé C (2023). Assembly and synthesis of the extracellular matrix in brown algae. Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology, 134, 112-124. DOI

Yonamine R, Ichihara K, Tsuyuzaki S, Hervé C, Motomura T,  Nagasato C (2021). Changes in Cell Wall Structure During Rhizoid Formation of Silvetia babingtonii (Fucales, Phaeophyceae) zygotes. Journal of Phycology, 57(4), 1356-1367. DOI

Dittami SM, Corre E, Brillet-Guéguen L, Lipinska AP, Pontoizeau N, Aite M, Avia K, Caron C, Cho CH, Collén J, Cormier A, Delage L, Doubleau S, Frioux C, Gobet A, González-Navarrete I, Groisillier A, Hervé C, Jollivet D, KleinJan H, Leblanc C, Liu X, Marie D, Markov GV, Minoche AE, Monsoor M, Pericard P, Perrineau M-M, Peters AF, Siegel A, Siméon A, Trottier C, Yoon HS, Himmelbauer H, Boyen C, Tonon T (2020). The genome of Ectocarpus subulatus – A highly stress-tolerant brown alga. Marine Genomics, 100740. DOI

Salmeán AA, Guillouzo A, Duffieux D, Jam M, Matard-Mann M, Larocque R, Pedersen HL, Michel G, Czjzek M, Willats WGT, Hervé C (2018). Double blind microarray-based polysaccharide profiling enables parallel identification of uncharacterized polysaccharides and carbohydrate-binding proteins with unknown specificities. Scientific Reports 8, 2500. DOI

Schultz-Johansen M, Cueff M, Hardouin K, Jam M, Larocque R, Glaring MA, Hervé C, Czjzek M, Stougaard P (2018). Discovery and screening of novel metagenome-derived GH107 enzymes targeting sulfated fucans from brown algae. The FEBS Journal 285, 4281-4295. DOI

Deniaud-Bouët E, Hardouin K, Potin P, Kloareg B, Hervé C (2017). A review about brown algal cell walls and fucose-containing sulfated polysaccharides: Cell wall context, biomedical properties and key research challenges. Carbohydrate polymers 175, 395-408. DOI

Salmeán AA, Duffieux D, Harholt J, Qin F, Michel G, Czjzek M, Willats WGT, Hervé C (2017). Insoluble (1 → 3), (1 → 4)-β-D-glucan is a component of cell walls in brown algae (Phaeophyceae) and is masked by alginates in tissues. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 2880 DOI

Torode AT, Siméon A, Marcus SE, Jam M, Le Moigne M-A, Duffieux D, Knox JP, Hervé C (2016). Dynamics of cell wall assembly during early embryogenesis in the brown alga Fucus. Journal of Experimental Botany. 61(21): 6089-6100 DOI

Ropartz D, Giuliani A, Fanuel M, Hervé C, Czjzek M, Rogniaux H (2016). Online Coupling of High-Resolution Chromatography with Extreme Uv Photon Activation Tandem Mass Spectrometry: Application to the Structural Investigation of Complex Glycans by Dissociative Photoionization. Analytica Chimica Acta. 933: 1-9 DOI

Fischl R, Bertelsen K, Gaillard F, Coelho S, Michel G, Klinger M, Boyen C, Czjzek M, Hervé C (2016). The cell wall active mannuronan C5-epimerases in the model brown alga Ectocarpus: from gene context to recombinant protein. Glycobiology. 26(9): 973-983 DOI

Hervé C, Siméon A, Jam M, Cassin A, Johnson KL, Salmeán AA, Willats WG, Doblin MS, Bacic A, Kloareg B (2016). Arabinogalactan proteins have deep roots in eukaryotes: identification of genes and epitopes in brown algae and their role in Fucus serratus embryo development. New Phytologist. 209: 1428–1441 DOI

Ficko-Blean E, Hervé C, Michel G (2015). Sulfated sugars from the sea: biosynthesis and remodelling of sulfated macroalgal cell wall polysaccharides. Perspectives in Phycology 2(1): 51-64. DOI

Torode TA, Marcus SE, Jam M, Tonon T, Blackburn RS, Hervé C, Knox JP (2015). Monoclonal antibodies directed to fucoidan preparations from brown algae. PLoS One 10(2): e0118366. DOI

Ropartz D, Giuliani A, Hervé C, Geairon A, Jam M, Czjzek C, Rogniaux H (2015). High-Energy Photon Activation Tandem Mass Spectrometry Provides Unprecedented Insights into the Structure of Highly Sulfated Oligosaccharides Extracted from Macroalgal Cell Walls. Analytical Chemistry 87(2): 1042-49.

Tsirigoti A, Beakes G, Hervé C, Gachon CM, Katsaros C (2014) Attachment, penetration and early host defense mechanisms during the infection of filamentous brown algae by Eurychasma dicksonii. Protoplasma: 1-12. DOI

Deniaud-Bouët E, Kervarec N, Michel G, Tonon T, Kloareg B, Hervé C (2014) Chemical and enzymatic fractionation of cell walls from Fucales: insights into the structure of the extracellular matrix of brown algae. Annals of Botany 114: 1203-1216. DOI

Collén J, Porcel B, Carré W, Ball SG, Chaparro C, Tonon T, Barbeyron T, Michel G, Noel B, Valentin K, Elias M, Artiguenave F, Arun A, Aury JM, Barbosa-Neto JF, Bothwell JH, Bouget FY, Brillet L, Cabello-Hurtado F, Capella-Gutiérrez S, Charrier B, Cladière L, Cock JM, Coelho SM, Colleoni C, Czjzek M, Da Silva C, Delage L, Denoeud F, Deschamps P, Dittami SM, Gabaldón T, Gachon CM, Groisillier A, Hervé C, Jabbari K, Katinka M, Kloareg B, Kowalczyk N, Labadie K, Leblanc C, Lopez PJ, McLachlan DH, Meslet-Cladiere L, Moustafa A, Nehr Z, Nyvall Collén P, Panaud O, Partensky F, Poulain J, Rensing SA, Rousvoal S, Samson G, Symeonidi A, Weissenbach J, Zambounis A, Wincker P, Boyen C (2013). Genome structure and metabolic features in the red seaweed Chondrus crispus shed light on evolution of the Archaeplastida. PNAS.110(13):5247-52. DOI

Popper ZA, Michel G, Hervé C, Domozych D, Willats WGT, Tuohy MG, Kloareg B, Stengel DB (2011). Evolution and Diversity of Plant Cell Walls: From Algae to Flowering Plants. Annu Rev Plant Biol. 62: 567-590. DOI