Universal representations of Lie algebras by coderivations

A class of representations of a Lie superalgebra (over a commutative superring) in its symmetric algebra is studied. As an application we get a direct and natural proof of a strong form of the Poincare-Birkhoff-Witt theorem, extending this theorem to a class of nilpotent Lie superalgebras. Other applications are presented. Our results are new already for Lie algebras. (C) 2003 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.