The Cent Ballades D’amant Et De Dame Of Christine De Pizan: A Critical Introduction And Literary Translation

Christine de Pizan (ca. 1364–1430?) was the first professional secular woman writer of late-medieval (or early modern) France. Despite her significance in global literary history, her lyric poetry has remained, for the most part, un-translated. For my dissertation, I have produced the first complete English translation of her poetic masterpiece, 100 Ballades of a Lady and a Lover (Cent Ballades d’Amant et de Dame, ca.1409–1410; hereafter CBAD), together with a critical introduction and annotations situating her work within its broader literary-historical context. In the introduction, I examine the CBAD in terms of three kinds of literary forms: lyric style, narrative structure, and manuscript sequence. I argue that the narrative structure of the CBAD can be traced back through the debate poems of Guillaume de Machaut and the trouvères as well as the myth of Tiresias in the Ovide moralisé (a fourteenth-century adaptation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses). In the sequence of texts that appear in the Queen’s Manuscript—in other words, in the context of the collected works of Christine de Pizan—I observe that the CBAD is positioned as a final masterpiece, one that cites and even corrects some of Christine’s previous writings on the subject of fin’amors. In terms of lyric style, I read the CBAD as an emulation of Guillaume de Machaut and Eustache Deschamps, especially the Voir Dit and Fontaine amoureuse of Machaut and the lays and virelais of Deschamps

The Cent Ballades D’amant Et De Dame Of Christine De Pizan: A Critical Introduction And Literary Translation

Christine de Pizan (ca. 1364–1430?) was the first professional secular woman writer of late-medieval (or early modern) France. Despite her significance in global literary history, her lyric poetry has remained, for the most part, un-translated. For my dissertation, I have produced the first complete English translation of her poetic masterpiece, 100 Ballades of a Lady and a Lover (Cent Ballades d’Amant et de Dame, ca.1409–1410; hereafter CBAD), together with a critical introduction and annotations situating her work within its broader literary-historical context. In the introduction, I examine the CBAD in terms of three kinds of literary forms: lyric style, narrative structure, and manuscript sequence. I argue that the narrative structure of the CBAD can be traced back through the debate poems of Guillaume de Machaut and the trouvères as well as the myth of Tiresias in the Ovide moralisé (a fourteenth-century adaptation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses). In the sequence of texts that appear in the Queen’s Manuscript—in other words, in the context of the collected works of Christine de Pizan—I observe that the CBAD is positioned as a final masterpiece, one that cites and even corrects some of Christine’s previous writings on the subject of fin’amors. In terms of lyric style, I read the CBAD as an emulation of Guillaume de Machaut and Eustache Deschamps, especially the Voir Dit and Fontaine amoureuse of Machaut and the lays and virelais of Deschamps

Inter and intra-specific diversity of parasites that cause lymphatic filariasis

AbstractLymphatic filariasis is caused by three closely related nematode parasites: Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi and Brugia timori. These species have many ecological variants that differ in several aspects of their biology such as mosquito vector species, host range, periodicity, and morphology. Although the genome of B. malayi (the first genome sequenced from a parasitic nematode) has been available for more than five years, very little is known about genetic variability among the lymphatic dwelling filariae. The genetic diversity among these worms is not only interesting from a biological perspective, but it may have important practical implications for the Global Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis, as the parasites may respond differently to diagnostic tests and/or medical interventions. Therefore, better information on their genetic variability is urgently needed. With improved methods for nucleic acid extraction and recent advances in sequencing chemistry and instrumentation, this gap can be filled relatively inexpensively. Improved information on filarial genetic diversity may increase the chances of success for lymphatic filariasis elimination programs

Localization of Wolbachia-like gene transcripts and peptides in adult Onchocerca flexuosa worms indicates tissue specific expression

BACKGROUND: Most filarial species in the genus Onchocerca depend on Wolbachia endobacteria to successfully carry out their life cycle. O. flexuosa is a Wolbachia-free species, but its genome contains Wolbachia-like sequences presumably obtained from Wolbachia via horizontal gene transfer. Proteogenomic studies have shown that many of these Wolbachia-like sequences are expressed in adult worms. METHODS: Six Wolbachia-like sequences in O. flexuosa were chosen for further study based on their sequence conservation with Wolbachia genes, length of predicted open reading frames, and expression at the RNA and/or protein levels. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemical labeling were used to localize Wolbachia-like transcripts and peptides in adult worm tissues. RESULTS: RNA probes representing three of the six target sequences produced hybridization signals in worm tissues. These probes bound to transcripts in the intestine and lateral chords of both sexes, in the hypodermis, median chords and uteri in females, and in sperm precursor cells in males. Antibodies raised to three peptides corresponding to these transcripts bound to specific bands in a soluble extract of adult O. flexuosa by Western blot that were not labeled by control antibodies in pre-immune serum. Two of the three antibodies produced labeling patterns in adult worm sections that were similar to those of the RNA probes, while the third produced a different pattern. CONCLUSIONS: A subset of the Wolbachia-like sequences present in the genome of the Wolbachia-free filarial species O. flexuosa are transcribed in tissues where Wolbachia reside in infected filarial species. Some of the peptides and/or proteins derived from these transcripts appear to be concentrated in the same tissues while others may be exported to other regions of the worm. These results suggest that horizontally transferred Wolbachia genes and gene products may replicate important Wolbachia functions in uninfected filarial worms

Systems biology studies of adult Paragonimus lung flukes facilitate the identification of immunodominant parasite antigens

Paragonimiasis is a food-borne trematode infection acquired by eating raw or undercooked crustaceans. It is a major public health problem in the far East, but it also occurs in South Asia, Africa, and in the Americas. Paragonimus worms cause chronic lung disease with cough, fever and hemoptysis that can be confused with tuberculosis or other non-parasitic diseases. Treatment is straightforward, but diagnosis is often delayed due to a lack of reliable parasitological or serodiagnostic tests. Hence, the purpose of this study was to use a systems biology approach to identify key parasite proteins that may be useful for development of improved diagnostic tests.The transcriptome of adult Paragonimus kellicotti was sequenced with Illumina technology. Raw reads were pre-processed and assembled into 78,674 unique transcripts derived from 54,622 genetic loci, and 77,123 unique protein translations were predicted. A total of 2,555 predicted proteins (from 1,863 genetic loci) were verified by mass spectrometric analysis of total worm homogenate, including 63 proteins lacking homology to previously characterized sequences. Parasite proteins encoded by 321 transcripts (227 genetic loci) were reactive with antibodies from infected patients, as demonstrated by immunoaffinity purification and high-resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Serodiagnostic candidates were prioritized based on several criteria, especially low conservation with proteins in other trematodes. Cysteine proteases, MFP6 proteins and myoglobins were abundant among the immunoreactive proteins, and these warrant further study as diagnostic candidates.The transcriptome, proteome and immunolome of adult P. kellicotti represent a major advance in the study of Paragonimus species. These data provide a powerful foundation for translational research to develop improved diagnostic tests. Similar integrated approaches may be useful for identifying novel targets for drugs and vaccines in the future

Comparing the mitochondrial genomes of Wolbachia-dependent and independent filarial nematode species

BACKGROUND: Many species of filarial nematodes depend on Wolbachia endobacteria to carry out their life cycle. Other species are naturally Wolbachia-free. The biological mechanisms underpinning Wolbachia-dependence and independence in filarial nematodes are not known. Previous studies have indicated that Wolbachia have an impact on mitochondrial gene expression, which may suggest a role in energy metabolism. If Wolbachia can supplement host energy metabolism, reduced mitochondrial function in infected filarial species may account for Wolbachia-dependence. Wolbachia also have a strong influence on mitochondrial evolution due to vertical co-transmission. This could drive alterations in mitochondrial genome sequence in infected species. Comparisons between the mitochondrial genome sequences of Wolbachia-dependent and independent filarial worms may reveal differences indicative of altered mitochondrial function. RESULTS: The mitochondrial genomes of 5 species of filarial nematodes, Acanthocheilonema viteae, Chandlerella quiscali, Loa loa, Onchocerca flexuosa, and Wuchereria bancrofti, were sequenced, annotated and compared with available mitochondrial genome sequences from Brugia malayi, Dirofilaria immitis, Onchocerca volvulus and Setaria digitata. B. malayi, D. immitis, O. volvulus and W. bancrofti are Wolbachia-dependent while A. viteae, C. quiscali, L. loa, O. flexuosa and S. digitata are Wolbachia-free. The 9 mitochondrial genomes were similar in size and AT content and encoded the same 12 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs and 2 rRNAs. Synteny was perfectly preserved in all species except C. quiscali, which had a different order for 5 tRNA genes. Protein-coding genes were expressed at the RNA level in all examined species. In phylogenetic trees based on mitochondrial protein-coding sequences, species did not cluster according to Wolbachia dependence. CONCLUSIONS: Thus far, no discernable differences were detected between the mitochondrial genome sequences of Wolbachia-dependent and independent species. Additional research will be needed to determine whether mitochondria from Wolbachia-dependent filarial species show reduced function in comparison to the mitochondria of Wolbachia-independent species despite their sequence-level similarities

Conservation and diversification of the transcriptomes of adult Paragonimus westermani and P. skrjabini

Gene Ontology term enrichment among transcript sets of interest from P. westermani and P. skrjabini. (XLSX 42 kb

Endosymbiont DNA in Endobacteria-Free Filarial Nematodes Indicates Ancient Horizontal Genetic Transfer

Background: Wolbachia are among the most abundant symbiotic microbes on earth; they are present in about 66% of all insect species, some spiders, mites and crustaceans, and most filarial nematode species. Infected filarial nematodes, including many pathogens of medical and veterinary importance, depend on Wolbachia for proper development and survival. The mechanisms behind this interdependence are not understood. Interestingly, a minority of filarial species examined to date are naturally Wolbachia-free. Methodology/PrincipalFindings:We used 454 pyrosequencing to survey the genomes of two distantly related Wolbachia- free filarial species, Acanthocheilonema viteae and Onchocerca flexuosa. This screen identified 49 Wolbachia-like DNA sequences in A. viteae and 114 in O. flexuosa. qRT-PCR reactions detected expression of 30 Wolbachia-like sequences in A. viteae and 56 in O. flexuosa. Approximately half of these appear to be transcribed from pseudogenes. In situ hybridization showed that two of these pseudogene transcripts were specifically expressed in developing embryos and testes of both species. Conclusions/Significance: These results strongly suggest that the last common ancestor of extant filarial nematodes was infected with Wolbachia and that this former endosymbiont contributed to their genome evolution. Horizontally transferred Wolbachia DNA may explain the ability of some filarial species to live and reproduce without the endosymbiont while other species cannot