Premières. Les lettres au féminin en 1980

Le 6 mars 1980, Marguerite Yourcenar est élue à l’Académie française. En obtenant la majorité plus une voix, elle est la première femme en trois cent quarante-cinq ans à y obtenir un fauteuil. La décision reste cependant symbolique, comme en témoigne le propos de Jean Guitton ce jour-là. Aux journalistes qui l’interrogent, il explique avec un sourire qu’il a bien entendu fait partie des opposants: l’Académie ayant vécu pendant trois siècles sans femme, elle pouvait encore vivre trois siècles ..

Corps meurtris du roman contemporain : souffrances et accusations

Les corps meurtris sont régulièrement au cœur du roman contemporain : qu’ils soient le sujet même de la narration, ou qu’ils apparaissent ponctuellement, ils dictent une écriture éprouvante. S’il n’est pas nouveau – les corps malades ou blessés ont de longue date fasciné la littérature –, cet intérêt pour la souffrance physique, est toutefois aujourd’hui symptomatique d’une volonté d’exprimer et d’appréhender autrement le monde actuel, dans lequel le culte de l’apparence et de la performance, mais aussi le développement du virtuel laissent peu de chance à l’expression individuelle, de l’énonciation de drames intimes à la formulation de problèmes sociaux. À travers quelques romans contemporains de langue française, l’étude de la représentation des corps meurtris, permettra de comprendre comment ceux-ci appuient les accusations de l’écriture contemporaine.Wounded bodies are regularly at the heart of the contemporary novel: whether they are the topic of the narrative itself or incorporated more discreetly into the text, they require a demanding style of writing. Even if this interest in physical pain is not new – sick or injured bodies have long been a fascination in literature – today it is symptomatic of a desire to express and understand more fully the contemporary world, where the cult of appearances and performance, as well as the development of virtual reality, leave little opportunity for individual expression, from the utterance of private tragedies to the wording of societal problems. Using some contemporary French and francophone novels, this study of the representation of wounded bodies allows for an understanding of how they support the accusations found in contemporary literature

Vulnérable que je suis : poétique de l’éphémère chez Ali Zamir

Inscrites dans la réalité de la société comorienne, les vies vulnérables qui peuplent les romans d’Ali Zamir sont portées par une narration qui épouse la fragilité et la détresse des personnages. Entre ignorance et folie, voix accusatrice et foisonnement verbal, la fiction mise en œuvre se saisit des destins collectifs comme des existences ordinaires. Il s’agit ici de comprendre comment, roman après roman, une singulière poétique de l’éphémère en appelle au lecteur afin de rétablir la réflexion littéraire à l’échelle humaine.Inscribed in the reality of Comorian society, the vulnerable lives that inhabit Ali Zamir’s novels are carried by a narrative that embraces the fragility and distress of the characters. Between ignorance and madness, accusatory voice and verbal profusion, the implementing fiction grasps collective destinies like ordinary existences. It is a question here of understanding how, novel after novel, a singular poetic of ephemeral appeals to the reader in order to restore literary reflection on a human scale

Rational design of an orthogonal tryptophanyl nonsense suppressor tRNA

While a number of aminoacyl tRNA synthetase (aaRS):tRNA pairs have been engineered to alter or expand the genetic code, only the Methanococcus jannaschii tyrosyl tRNA synthetase and tRNA have been used extensively in bacteria, limiting the types and numbers of unnatural amino acids that can be utilized at any one time to expand the genetic code. In order to expand the number and type of aaRS/tRNA pairs available for engineering bacterial genetic codes, we have developed an orthogonal tryptophanyl tRNA synthetase and tRNA pair, derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In the process of developing an amber suppressor tRNA, we discovered that the Escherichia coli lysyl tRNA synthetase was responsible for misacylating the initial amber suppressor version of the yeast tryptophanyl tRNA. It was discovered that modification of the G:C content of the anticodon stem and therefore reducing the structural flexibility of this stem eliminated misacylation by the E. coli lysyl tRNA synthetase, and led to the development of a functional, orthogonal suppressor pair that should prove useful for the incorporation of bulky, unnatural amino acids into the genetic code. Our results provide insight into the role of tRNA flexibility in molecular recognition and the engineering and evolution of tRNA specificity

RloC: a wobble nucleotide-excising and zinc-responsive bacterial tRNase

The conserved bacterial protein RloC, a distant homologue of the tRNALys anticodon nuclease (ACNase) PrrC, is shown here to act as a wobble nucleotide-excising and Zn++-responsive tRNase. The more familiar PrrC is silenced by a genetically linked type I DNA restriction-modification (R-M) enzyme, activated by a phage anti-DNA restriction factor and counteracted by phage tRNA repair enzymes. RloC shares PrrC's ABC ATPase motifs and catalytic ACNase triad but features a distinct zinc-hook/coiled-coil insert that renders its ATPase domain similar to Rad50 and related DNA repair proteins. Geobacillus kaustophilus RloC expressed in Escherichia coli exhibited ACNase activity that differed from PrrC's in substrate preference and ability to excise the wobble nucleotide. The latter specificity could impede reversal by phage tRNA repair enzymes and account perhaps for RloC's more frequent occurrence. Mutagenesis and functional assays confirmed RloC's catalytic triad assignment and implicated its zinc hook in regulating the ACNase function. Unlike PrrC, RloC is rarely linked to a type I R-M system but other genomic attributes suggest their possible interaction in trans. As DNA damage alleviates type I DNA restriction, we further propose that these related perturbations prompt RloC to disable translation and thus ward off phage escaping DNA restriction during the recovery from DNA damage

tRNASec is transcribed by RNA polymerase II in Trypanosoma brucei but not in humans

Nuclear-encoded tRNAs are universally transcribed by RNA polymerase III (Pol-III) and contain intragenic promoters. Transcription of vertebrate tRNASec however requires extragenic promoters similar to Pol-III transcribed U6 snRNA. Here, we present a comparative analysis of tRNASec transcription in humans and the parasitic protozoa Trypanosoma brucei, two evolutionary highly diverged eukaryotes. RNAi-mediated ablation of Pol-II and Pol-III as well as oligo-dT induced transcription termination show that the human tRNASec is a Pol-III transcript. In T. brucei protein-coding genes are polycistronically transcribed by Pol-II and processed by trans-splicing and polyadenylation. tRNA genes are generally clustered in between polycistrons. However, the trypanosomal tRNASec genes are embedded within a polycistron. Their transcription is sensitive to α-amanitin and RNAi-mediated ablation of Pol-II, but not of Pol-III. Ectopic expression of the tRNASec outside but not inside a polycistron requires an added external promoter. These experiments demonstrate that trypanosomal tRNASec, in contrast to its human counterpart, is transcribed by Pol-II. Synteny analysis shows that in trypanosomatids the tRNASec gene can be found in two different polycistrons, suggesting that it has evolved twice independently. Moreover, intron-encoded tRNAs are present in a number of eukaryotic genomes indicating that Pol-II transcription of tRNAs may not be restricted to trypanosomatids

Recode-2: new design, new search tools, and many more genes

'Recoding' is a term used to describe non-standard read-out of the genetic code, and encompasses such phenomena as programmed ribosomal frameshifting, stop codon readthrough, selenocysteine insertion and translational bypassing. Although only a small proportion of genes utilize recoding in protein synthesis, accurate annotation of ‘recoded’ genes lags far behind annotation of 'standard' genes. In order to address this issue, provide a service to researchers in the field, and offer training data for developers of gene-annotation software, we have gathered together known cases of recoding within the Recode database. Recode-2 is an improved and updated version of the database. It provides access to detailed information on genes known to utilize translational recoding and allows complex search queries, browsing of recoding data and enhanced visualization of annotated sequence elements. At present, the Recode-2 database stores information on approximately 1500 genes that are known to utilize recoding in their expression—a factor of approximately three increase over the previous version of the database. Recode-2 is available at http://recode.ucc.i

The Acute Phase Protein Serum Amyloid A Induces Lipolysis and Inflammation in Human Adipocytes through Distinct Pathways

Background: The acute phase response (APR) is characterized by alterations in lipid and glucose metabolism leading to an increased delivery of energy substrates. In adipocytes, there is a coordinated decrease in Free Fatty acids (FFAs) and glucose storage, in addition to an increase in FFAs mobilization. Serum Amyloid A (SAA) is an acute phase protein mainly associated with High Density Lipoproteins (HDL). We hypothesized that enrichment of HDL with SAA, during the APR, could be implicated in the metabolic changes occurring in adipocytes. Methodology/Principal Findings: In vitro differentiated human adipocytes (hMADS) were treated with SAA enriched HDL or recombinant SAA and the metabolic phenotype of the cells analyzed. In hMADS, SAA induces an increased lipolysis through an ERK dependent pathway. At the molecular level, SAA represses PPARc2, C/EBPa and SREBP-1c gene expression, three transcription factors involved in adipocyte differentiation or lipid synthesis. In addition, the activation of the NF-kB pathway by SAA leads to the induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, as in the case of immune cells. These latter findings were replicated in freshly isolated mature human adipocytes. Conclusions/Significance: Besides its well-characterized role in cholesterol metabolism, SAA has direct metabolic effects on human adipocytes. These metabolic changes could be at least partly responsible for alterations of adipocyte metabolism observed during the APR as well as during pathophysiological conditions such as obesity and conditions leading to insuli

Complete Genome Sequence of Mycoplasma suis and Insights into Its Biology and Adaption to an Erythrocyte Niche

Mycoplasma suis, the causative agent of porcine infectious anemia, has never been cultured in vitro and mechanisms by which it causes disease are poorly understood. Thus, the objective herein was to use whole genome sequencing and analysis of M. suis to define pathogenicity mechanisms and biochemical pathways. M. suis was harvested from the blood of an experimentally infected pig. Following DNA extraction and construction of a paired end library, whole-genome sequencing was performed using GS-FLX (454) and Titanium chemistry. Reads on paired-end constructs were assembled using GS De Novo Assembler and gaps closed by primer walking; assembly was validated by PFGE. Glimmer and Manatee Annotation Engine were used to predict and annotate protein-coding sequences (CDS). The M. suis genome consists of a single, 742,431 bp chromosome with low G+C content of 31.1%. A total of 844 CDS, 3 single copies, unlinked rRNA genes and 32 tRNAs were identified. Gene homologies and GC skew graph show that M. suis has a typical Mollicutes oriC. The predicted metabolic pathway is concise, showing evidence of adaptation to blood environment. M. suis is a glycolytic species, obtaining energy through sugars fermentation and ATP-synthase. The pentose-phosphate pathway, metabolism of cofactors and vitamins, pyruvate dehydrogenase and NAD+ kinase are missing. Thus, ribose, NADH, NADPH and coenzyme A are possibly essential for its growth. M. suis can generate purines from hypoxanthine, which is secreted by RBCs, and cytidine nucleotides from uracil. Toxins orthologs were not identified. We suggest that M. suis may cause disease by scavenging and competing for host' nutrients, leading to decreased life-span of RBCs. In summary, genome analysis shows that M. suis is dependent on host cell metabolism and this characteristic is likely to be linked to its pathogenicity. The prediction of essential nutrients will aid the development of in vitro cultivation systems

The Father's game : the narrator-father in contemporary french novel

Rares sont les occasions pour le père de faire entendre sa voix dans le roman français contemporain. Alors que le récit de filiation a pris une ampleur sans précédent dès les années 1980, offrant aux fils et aux filles la possibilité de questionner leur ascendance, la figure paternelle est de longue date sommée de garder le silence. Le fait n’est pas nouveau : la littérature fut à maintes reprises le témoin d’une paternité tenue à distance de l’intimité familiale, victime de l’image tenace d’un patriarche, autoritaire et injuste, progressivement dépossédée de ses pouvoirs par l’Histoire. À l’approche du XXIe siècle cependant, les sciences humaines manifestent un intérêt soudain pour le sujet ; considérant le silence du père, la sociologie, la psychologie, l’histoire mais aussi la littérature s’interrogent : quelle place, quel rôle et finalement quelle identité doivent être aujourd’hui accordés au père ? Parmi la rumeur grandissante, le principal intéressé, pressé de questions, peine à se hisser sur le devant de la scène pour prendre la parole. Il convient dès lors de prêter attention à l’exception du père-narrateur et d’enquêter sur les modalités d’une telle émergence dans le roman contemporain. L’analyse appuyée sur un corpus de romans de quatre écrivains – Philippe Forest, Laurent Mauvignier, Gisèle Fournier et Sylvie Gracia –, mêlant écrits fictifs et autobiographiques, a permis de définir les caractéristiques d’un phénomène inédit introduisant une réflexion nouvelle sur la paternité, en ce qu’elle répond de l’incertitude de l’individu contemporain, mais aussi de la paternité littéraire et des enjeux de l’écriture contemporaine. L’étude pose pour cela dans un premier temps les contextes historiques et génériques de la paternité en confrontant les points de vue proposés par les sciences humaines et ceux résultant de l’approche littéraire. La structure de la narration paternelle est ensuite observée de manière à comprendre comment advient la parole du père et le fonctionnement spécifique de celle-ci. Enfin la dernière partie s’attarde sur la singularité de la voix paternelle et sur ce qui, visant à rendre compte du réel, s’apparente à un jeu littéraire sans fin, entraînant côte à côte, écrivain, personnages et lecteur.In the contemporary French novel, the father has few opportunities to be heard. While there have been an increasing number of stories about filiation since the 1980's, giving sons and daughters the possibility of questioning their ancestry, the father figure remains silent. Nothing is new here: literature often shows the father being kept away from the private sphere of family life, the father being a victim of the enduring patriarchal image and of his lost authority. At the turn of the 21st century, however, the humanities and social sciences suddenly began to take an interest in the topic. Looking at the father's silence, sociology, psychology, history, and also literature ask the question: what place, what role, and, in the end, what identity should be given to the father? In the midst of this growing discussion, the key player pressed by questions struggles to make his way into the foreground and take the floor. If eventually he introduces himself as a narrator, this should be noted and the forms of such an emergence in the contemporary novel should be investigated. An analysis based on the novels of four writers – Philippe Forest, Laurent Mauvignier, Gisèle Fournier et Sylvie Gracia – blending fictional and autobiographical works, allows us to define the features of an unprecedented phenomenon leading to new ideas about being a father today in terms of how it reflects the uncertainty of the individual in society, and also about the authorship of the work (“paternity”) and its issues in contemporary writing. This study first lays out historical and generic contexts of fatherhood by addressing the points of view offered by the social sciences and those derived from the literary approach. The structure of the paternal narration is then observed in such a way to allow an understanding of what's behind the father's words and how they work. Finally, the last chapter focuses on the singularity of the paternal voice and on that which, attempting to take account of reality, lends itself to an endless literary game, carrying away author, characters, and reader