Georges André Sentenac (born 4 May 1939) is a French

molecular biologist Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

specializing in

gene transcription Transcription is the process of copying a segment of DNA into RNA for the purpose of gene expression. Some segments of DNA are transcribed into RNA molecules that can encode proteins, called messenger RNA (mRNA). Other segments of DNA are transc ...

. Married to Pierrette Balse, professor of

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

at the University of

Orsay Orsay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. A fortifie ...

, they had three children, all scientists, Anne, Marion and Daniel.

Biography

He was elected correspondent of the French Academy of sciences in 1999 and then a member of the Institute in 2007.

Scientific career

During his postdoctoral internship in Dr. George Acs' laboratory in New York City, Sentenac addresses the regulation of gene expression by showing that appropriate hormonal treatment forces a young male cockerel to produce certain specific components of the egg. Back in France, to bypass the complexity of higher organisms, he chose to work on the

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

Saccharomyces cerevisiae ''Saccharomyces cerevisiae'' () (brewer's yeast or baker's yeast) is a species of yeast (single-celled fungal microorganisms). The species has been instrumental in winemaking, baking, and brewing since ancient times. It is believed to have be ...

. In the following years, this yeast will become an essential study model in the molecular genetics of eukaryotic cells. First, he isolated and identified the essential components of the molecular machinery responsible for

in yeast. He gave the first complete description of the three forms of nuclear

RNA polymerase In molecular biology, RNA polymerase (abbreviated RNAP or RNApol), or more specifically DNA-directed/dependent RNA polymerase (DdRP), is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reactions that synthesize RNA from a DNA template. Using the e ...

s which are composed of the assembly of many subunits with various functions. Focusing his efforts on the transcription of the large family of class III genes encoding

tRNAs Transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA), formerly referred to as soluble ribonucleic acid (sRNA), is an adaptor molecule composed of RNA, typically 76 to 90 nucleotides in length (in eukaryotes). In a cell, it provides the physical link between the genet ...

, 5S RNA and other small

RNA Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule that is essential for most biological functions, either by performing the function itself (non-coding RNA) or by forming a template for the production of proteins (messenger RNA). RNA and deoxyrib ...

s, he isolated the general transcription factors TFIIIC and TFIIIB and described the cascade of protein-DNA and protein-protein interaction leading to the recruitment of RNA polymerase III on DNA and the initiation of transcription.Chédin, S., et al., « The yeast RNA polymerase III transcription machinery: a paradigm for eukaryotic gene activation », ''Cold Spring Harb. Symp. Quant. Biol.'', (1998), 63, p. 381-389 A total of 26 proteins are dedicated to the transcription of class III genes. In particular, it shows that the TFIIIC factor consists of two protein modules capable of binding to two distinct promoter elements spaced differently according to genes, of lifting chromatin repression and of recruiting TFIIIB.

Awards and honours

*1969, Maurice Nicloux Prize of the French Society of Biochemistry *1977, Paul Doisteau-Emile Blutel Prize from the Academy of Sciences *1985, Elected Member of EMBO *1987,

CNRS Silver Medal The CNRS Silver Medal is a scientific award given every year to about fifteen researchers by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). It is awarded to a researcher for "the originality, quality and importance of their work, re ...

*1997, Charles-Léopold Mayer Grand Prize of the French Academy of sciences *1999, Member of the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of humanities, letters, law, and sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europe ...

*1999, Correspondent of the French Academy of sciences *1999-2004, Member of the EMBO Council *2007, Member of the French Academy of sciences *2012, Commander in the

Ordre des Palmes Académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

*2018, Officer in the Ordre de la

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

More representative publications

*Sentenac, A. Eukaryotic RNA polymerases. CRC Crit. Rev. Biochem. (1985) 18: 31-90 *Marzouki, N., CaMier, S., Ruet, A, Moenne, A, and Sentenac, A. Selective proteolysis defines two DNA binding domains in yeast transcription factor τ. Nature (1986) 323: 176-178 *Margottin, F., Dujardin, G., Gérard, M., Égly, J.-M., Huet, J. and Sentenac, A. Participation of the TATA factor in transcription of the yeast U6 gene by RNA polymerase C. Science (1991) 251: 424-426 *Burnol, A-F., Margottin, F., Huet, J., Almouzni, G., Prioleau, M.-N., Méchali, M., and Sentenac, A. TFIIIC relieves repression of U6 snRNA transcription by chromatin. Nature (1993) 62: 475-477 *Marsolier, M.-C., Tanaka, S., Livingstone-Zatchej, M., Grunstein, M., Thoma, F. and Sentenac, A. Reciprocal interferences between nucleosomal organization and transcriptional activity of the yeast ''SNR6'' gene. Genes & Dev. (1995) 9: 410-422 *Rüth, J., Conesa, C., Dieci, G., Lefebvre, O., Düsterhöft, A, Ottonello, S., and Sentenac, A. A suppressor of mutations in the class III transcription system encodes a component of yeast TFIIIB. EMBO J. (1996) 15: 1941-1949 *Dieci, G. and Sentenac, A. Facilitated recycling pathway for RNA polymerase III. Cell (1996) 84: 245-252 *Chédin, S., Ferri, M.L., Peyroche, G., Andrau, J.C., Jourdain, S., Lefebvre, O., Werner, M., CarLes, C., and Sentenac, A. The yeast RNA polymerase III transcription machinery: a paradigm for eukaryotic gene activation. Cold Spring Harb. Symp. Quant. Biol. (1998) 63: 381-389 *Oficjalska-Pham, D., Harismendy, O., Smagowicz, W.J., Gonzalez de Peredo, A, Boguta, M., Sentenac, A. and Lefebvre, O. General repression of RNA polymerase III transcription is triggered by protein phosphatase type 2A-mediated dephosphorylation of Maf1 Mol. Cell (2006) 22: 623-632. *Ducrot, C., Lefebvre, O., Landrieux, E., Guirouilh-Barbat, J., Sentenac, A. and Acker, J. Reconstitution of the yeast RNA polymerase III transcription system with all recombinant factors. J. Biol. Chem. (2006) 281: 11685-11692 *Sentenac, A. and Riva, M. Odd RNA polymerases or the A(B)C of eukaryotic transcription. Biochim. Biophys. Acta (2013) 1829 : 251-257

Main books

*Sentenac, A. and Hall, B. Yeast RNA polymerases and their role in transcription in The Molecular Biology of the Yeast Saccharomyces. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (1982) pp 561–606 *Thuriaux, P. and Sentenac, A.Yeast nuclear RNA Polymerases in The Molecular and Cellular Biology of the Yeast Saccharomyces : Gene expression. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (1991) pp 1–48

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sentenac, Andre 1939 births French molecular biologists Members of the French Academy of Sciences Living people