51cg

People

Professor Jonathan Pettitt

Professor Jonathan Pettitt
Professor Jonathan Pettitt
Professor Jonathan Pettitt

BSc (Hons) (1988; Imperial College, London) PhD (1992; University of Cambridge)

Personal Chair

51cg
Email Address
j.pettitt@abdn.ac.uk
Telephone Number
+44 (0)1224 437516
Office Address

School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition
Room 4:38, Institute of Medical Sciences

School/Department
School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition

Biography

Jonathan Pettitt graduated from Imperial College with an upper second class degree in Biochemistry. He then carried out postgraduate research within the Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, investigating the structure and expression of collagen genes in the parasitic nematode Ascaris suum. Whilst at Cambridge he was seduced by the many charms of the non-parasitic nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, and upon completing his PhD he went to Bill Wood’s lab at the University of Colorado, Boulder as an HFSPO long term postdoctoral fellow to study C. elegans development. In 1994, he obtained a two year EMBO fellowship to continue this work in the laboratory of Ronald Plasterk at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, and learn the reverse genetics techniques pioneered there. He moved to the 51cg in 1996 where he became group leader and Lecturer in genetics within the newly built Institute of Medical Sciences.

Research

Research Overview

Professor Jonathan Pettitt studies the mechanistic basis of specific RNA processing events using the nematode C. elegans as a model organism (). The main focus of the lab is understanding spliced leader trans-splicing, with the long-term goal of developing drugs that target this essential nematode-specific process. Such drugs are needed to treat the myriad parasitic nematodes that threaten both human and animal health, and impact global food security. Parallel work seeks to understand cap-adjacent RNA methylation, a modification that is found in most human messenger RNAs but whose functional significance remains unknown.

Research Areas

Biomedical Sciences

View Research Area

Research Specialisms

  • Genetics

Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is , published under the licence.

Funding and Grants

BBSRC (2020 - 2023). Understanding the mechanism of a nematode molecular Achilles' heel.

Teaching

Programmes

Courses

Publications

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  • Cap-adjacent 2′-O-ribose methylation of RNA in C. elegans is required for postembryonic growth and germline development in the presence of the decapping exonuclease EOL-1

    Clemens, E., Brivio, S., Al-Khafaji, M. I., Eijlers, P., Kurukulasuriya, M. S., Haussmann, I. U., MacLeod, D., Wenzel, M., Muller, B., Soller, M., Pettitt, J.
    Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 54, no. 8, gkag355
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • The protein-protein interaction between two spliced leader trans-splicing factors is mediated by two interlinked α-helical domains

    Eijlers, P., Pettitt, J., Müller, B.
    microPublication Biology, vol. 2025, 001705
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE]
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Cap-adjacent 2’-O-ribose methylation of RNA in C. elegans is required for postembryonic growth and germline development in the presence of the decapping exonuclease EOL-1

    Clemens, E., Brivo, S., Al-Khafaji, M. I., Eijlers, P., Kurukulasuriya, M. S., Haussmann, I. U., MacLeod, D., Wenzel, M., Muller, B., Soller, M., Pettitt, J.
    Working Papers: Preprint Papers
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • A nematode-specific ribonucleoprotein complex mediates interactions between the major nematode spliced leader snRNP and its target pre-mRNAs

    Eijlers, P., Al-Khafaji, M. I., Soto Martin, E., Fasimoye, R. Y., Stead, D., Wenzel, M., Muller, B., Pettitt, J.
    Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 52, no. 12, pp. 7245-7260
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Both trust in, and polarization of trust in, relevant sciences have increased through the COVID-19 pandemic

    Radrizzani, S., Fonseca, C., Woollard, A., Pettitt, J., Hurst, L. D.
    PloS ONE, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. e0278169
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • #ESHREjc report: failed fertilization: is genetic incompatibility the elephant in the room?

    Makieva, S., Fraire-Zamora, J. J., Mincheva, M., Uraji, J., Ali, Z. E., Ammar, O. F., Liperis, G., Serdarogullari, M., Bianchi, E., Pettitt, J., Sermon, K., Bhattacharya, S., Massarotti, C.
    Human reproduction (Oxford, England), vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 324-327
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [ONLINE]

  • People with more extreme attitudes towards science have self-confidence in their understanding of science, even if this is not justified

    Fonseca, C., Pettitt, J., Woollard, A., Rutherford, A., Bickmore, W., Ferguson-Smith, A., Hurst, L. D.
    PLoS Biology, vol. 21, no. 1, e3001915
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • TES-1/Tes and ZYX-1/Zyxin protect junctional actin networks under tension during epidermal morphogenesis in the C. elegans embryo

    Lynch, A., Zhu, Y., Lucas, B., Winkelman, J., Bai, K., Martin, S., Block, S., Slabodnick, M., Audhya, A., Goldstein, B., Pettitt, J., Gardel, M., Hardin, J.
    Current Biology, vol. 32, no. 23, pp. 5189-5199
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • A novel, essential trans-splicing protein connects the nematode SL1 snRNP to the CBC-ARS2 complex

    Fasimoye, R. Y., Spencer, R. E., Soto Martin, E., Eijlers, P., Elmassoudi, H., Brivio, S., Mangana, C., Sabele, V., Rechtorikova, R., Wenzel, M., Connolly, B., Pettitt, J., Müller, B. M.
    Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 50, no. 13, pp. 7591-7607
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • SLIDR and SLOPPR: flexible identification of spliced leader trans-splicing and prediction of eukaryotic operons from RNA-Seq data

    Wenzel, M., Muller, B., Pettitt, J.
    BMC Bioinformatics, vol. 22, 140
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • SLIDR and SLOPPR:: Flexible identification of spliced leadertrans-splicing and prediction of eukaryotic operons from RNA-Seq data

    Wenzel, M. A., Müller, B., Pettitt, J.
    Working Papers: Preprint Papers
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • Resolution of polycistronic RNA by SL2 trans-splicing is a widely-conserved nematode trait

    Wenzel, M., Johnston, C. S., Müller, B. M., Pettitt, J., Connolly, B.
    RNA , vol. 26, no. 12, pp. 1891-1904
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [ONLINE]

  • Deep evolutionary origin of nematode SL2 trans-splicing revealed by genome-wide analysis of the Trichinella spiralis transcriptome

    Wenzel, M., Johnston, C., Müller, B., Pettitt, J., Connolly, B.
    bioRxiv
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [ONLINE]
    • [ONLINE]

  • A high-throughput screen for the identification of compounds that inhibit nematode gene expression by targeting spliced leader trans-splicing

    Pandarakalam, G. C., Speake, M., McElroy, S., Alturkistani, A., Philippe, L., Pettitt, J., Muller, B., Connolly, B.
    International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance, vol. 10, pp. 28-37
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]
    • [ONLINE]

  • An in vivo genetic screen for genes involved in spliced leader trans-splicing indicates a crucial role for continuous de novo spliced leader RNP assembly

    Philippe, L., Pandarakalam, G. C., Fasimoye, R., Harrison, N., Connolly, B., Pettitt, J., Muller, B.
    Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 45, no. 14, pp. 8474-8483
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Genetic home testing: why it’s not such a great guide to your ancestry or disease risk

    Pettitt, J.
    The Conversation
    Contributions to Specialist Publications: Articles
    • [ONLINE]

  • Sci-fi still influences how society thinks about genes – it’s time we caught up

    Pettitt, J.
    The Conversation
    Contributions to Specialist Publications: Articles
    • [ONLINE]

  • Operons Are a Conserved Feature of Nematode Genomes

    Pettitt, J., Philippe, L., Sarkar, D., Johnston, C., Gothe, H., Massie, D., Connolly, B., Muller, B.
    Genetics, vol. 197, no. 4, pp. 1201-1211
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE]
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • β-Catenin: A Key Player in Both Cell Adhesion and Wnt Signaling

    Pettitt, J.
    Wnt Signaling in Development and Disease: Molecular Mechanisms and Biological Functions. Hoppler, S., Moon, R. T. (eds.). Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 217-224, 8 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [ONLINE]

  • Specific conserved C-terminal amino acids of Caenorhabditis elegans HMP-1/α-catenin modulate F-actin binding independently of vinculin

    Maiden, S. L., Harrison, N., Keegan, J., Cain, B., Lynch, A. M., Pettitt, J., Hardin, J.
    The Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 288, no. 8, pp. 5694-5706
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • Cadherins and their partners in the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans

    Hardin, J., Lynch, A., Loveless, T., Pettitt, J.
    The Molecular biology of Cadherins. van Roy, F. (ed.). Elsevier Science, pp. 239-262, 24 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • A genome-wide functional screen shows MAGI-1 is an L1CAM-dependent stabilizer of apical junctions in C. elegans

    Lynch, A., Grana, T., Cox, E., Couthier, A., Cameron, M., Chin-Sang, I., Pettitt, J., Hardin, J.
    Current Biology, vol. 22, no. 20, pp. 1891–1899
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • SL2-like spliced leader RNAs in the basal nematode Prionchulus punctatus: new insight into the evolution of nematode SL2 RNAs

    Harrison, N., Kalbfleisch, A., Connolly, B., Pettitt, J., Muller, B.
    RNA , vol. 16, no. 8, pp. 1500-1507
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • The evolution of spliced leader trans-splicing in nematodes

    Pettitt, J., Harrison, N., Stansfield, I., Connolly, B., Müller, B.
    Biochemical Society Transactions, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 1125-1130
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • Rapid sublethal toxicity assessment using bioluminescent Caenorhabditis elegans, a novel whole-animal metabolic biosensor

    Lagido, C., McLaggan, D., Flett, A., Pettitt, J., Glover, L. A.
    Toxicological Sciences, vol. 109, no. 1, pp. 88-95
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • Bridging the phenotypic gap: real-time assessment of mitochondrial function and metabolism of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

    Lagido, C., Pettitt, J., Flett, A. W., Glover, L. A.
    BMC Physiology, vol. 8, 7
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE]
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Spliced leader trans-splicing in the nematode Trichinella spiralis uses highly polymorphic, noncanonical spliced leaders

    Pettitt, J., Muller, B. M., Stansfield, I., Connolly, B.
    RNA , vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 760-770
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • C. elegans enabled exhibits novel interactions with N-WASP, Abl, and cell-cell junctions

    Sheffield, M., Loveless, T., Hardin, J., Pettitt, J.
    Current Biology, vol. 17, no. 20, pp. 1791-1796
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • Histone gene expression and histone mRNA 3' end structure in Caenorhabditis elegans

    Keall, R., Whitelaw, S., Pettitt, J., Muller, B.
    BMC Molecular Biology, vol. 8, 51
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE]
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Real time in vivo ATP Monitoring in C elegans

    Lagido, C., Pettitt, J., Flett, A. W., Glover, L. A.
    16th International C. elegans Meeting (2007)
    Contributions to Conferences: Abstracts
    • [ONLINE]

  • What Can A Bright Worm Tell Us 51cg Its Biology?

    Lagido, C., Flett, A. W., Pettitt, J., Glover, L. A.
    European Worm Meeting (2006)
    Contributions to Conferences: Abstracts
    • [ONLINE]

  • The Cadherin Superfamily

    Pettitt, J.
    WormBook
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • The Caenorhabditis elegans p120 catenin homologue, JAC-1, modulates cadherin-catenin function during epidermal morphogenesis

    Pettitt, J., Cox, E. A., Broadbent, I., Flett, A. W., Hardin, J.
    Journal of Cell Biology, vol. 162, no. 1, pp. 15-22
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • The Caenorhabditis elegans histone hairpin-binding protein is required for core histone gene expression and is essential for embryonic and postembryonic cell division

    Pettitt, J., Crombie, C., Schümperli, D., Muller, B. M.
    Journal of Cell Science, vol. 115, no. 4, pp. 857-866
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE]

  • The C. elegans hmr-1 gene can encode a neuronal classic cadherin involved in the regulation of axon fasciculation

    Broadbent, I., Pettitt, J.
    Current Biology, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 59-63
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • Toxicity of the bacterial luciferase substrate, n-decyl aldehyde, to Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Caenorhabditis elegans

    Hollis, R. P., Lagido, C., Pettitt, J., Porter, A. J. R., Killham, K. S., Paton, G. I., Glover, L. A.
    FEBS Letters, vol. 506, no. 2, pp. 140-142
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE]
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • Development and application of bioluminescent Caenorhabditis elegans as multicellular eukaryotic biosensors

    Lagido, C., Pettitt, J., Porter, A. J. R., Paton, G. I., Glover, L. A.
    FEBS Letters, vol. 493, no. 1, pp. 36-39
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • Cadherin Superfamily Proteins in Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster

    Hill, E., Broadbent, I., Chothia, C., Pettitt, J.
    Journal of Molecular Biology, vol. 305, no. 5, pp. 1011-1024
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • The use of bioluminescent Caenorhabditis elegans as multicellular eukaryotic biosensors

    Lagido, C., Pettitt, J., Glover, L. A.
    European Worm Meeting (2000)
    Contributions to Conferences: Abstracts
    • [ONLINE]

  • Luminescent Caenorhabditis elegans: a novel eukaryotic biosensor

    Lagido, C., Pettitt, J., Glover, L. A.
    12th International C. elegans Meeting
    Contributions to Conferences: Abstracts

  • Development of a Caenorhabditis elegans biosensor for monitoring environmental toxicants

    Lagido, C., Pettitt, J., Glover, L. A.
    European Worm Meeting
    Contributions to Conferences: Abstracts
    • [ONLINE]

  • cdh-3, a gene encoding a member of the cadherin superfamily, functions in epithelial cell morphogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans

    Pettitt, J., Wood, W. B., Plasterk, R. H.
    Development, vol. 122, no. 12, pp. 4149-4157
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [ONLINE]

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