Members of the Fitak Lab indicated in boldface

2025

2024

• Prion gene sequencing in Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi) suggests no differential susceptibility to transmissible spongiform encephalopathy
  Elizabeth Sharkey, David P. Onorato, Melody E. Roelke-Parker, Alexander Ochoa, Melanie Culver, Robert R. Fitak
  Journal of Wildlife Diseases 2024, :

• Male song structure predicts offspring recruitment to the breeding population in a migratory bird
  Rachael A DiSciullo, Anna M Forsman, Robert R Fitak, John Hunt, Pirmin Nietlisbach, Charles F Thompson, and Scott K Sakaluk
  Evolution 2024, 78:1054-1066

• The magneto-microbiome: a dataset of the metagenomic distribution of magnetotactic bacteria
  Robert Rodgers Fitak
  Data in Brief 2024, 53:110073 Download

2023

• Cephalopod-omics: emerging fields and technologies in cephalopod biology
  Tom Baden, John Briseño, Gabrielle Coffing, Sophie Cohen-Bodénès, Amy Courtney, Dominick Dickerson, Gül Dölen, Graziano Fiorito, Camino Gestal, Taryn Gustafson, Elizabeth Heath-Heckman, Qiaz Hua, Pamela Imperadore, Ryosuke Kimbara, Mirela Król, Zdeněk Lajbner, Nicolás Lichilín, Filippo Macchi, Matthew J McCoy, Michele K Nishiguchi, Spencer V Nyholm, Eve Otjacques, Pedro Antonio Pérez-Ferrer, Giovanna Ponte, Judit R Pungor, Thea F Rogers, Joshua J C Rosenthal, Lisa Rouressol, Noelle Rubas, Gustavo Sanchez, Catarina Pereira Santos, Darrin T Schultz, Eve Seuntjens, Jeremea O Songco-Casey, Ian Erik Stewart, Ruth Styfhals, Surangkana Tuanapaya, Nidhi Vijayan, Anton Weissenbacher, Lucia Zifcakova, Grace Schulz, Willem Weertman, Oleg Simakov, Caroline Albertin
  Integrative and Comparative Biology 2023, :icad087

• The mitochondrial genome of the pentastome parasite Raillietiella orientalis Hett, 1915 (Raillietiellida; Raillietiellidae) with notes on its phylogenetic position
  Jenna N. Palmisano, Terence M. Farrell, Taryn M. Gustafson, and Robert Rodgers Fitak
  Mitochondrial DNA Part B 2023, 8:756-759 Download

• Novel genome sequences of Ophidiomyces ophidiicola, the causative agent of snake fungal disease
  Erin B. Brosnan, Jenna N. Palmisano, Julianna K. Martin, and Robert Rodgers Fitak
  Microbiology Resource Announcements 2023, 12:e00093-23 Download

2022

• Reconstruction of the major maternal and paternal lineages in the feral New Zealand Kaimanawa horses
  Muhammad Bilal Sharif, Robert Rodgers Fitak, Barbara Wallner, Pablo Orozco-terWengel, Simone Frewin, Michelle Fremaux, and Elmira Mohandesan
  Animals 2022, 12:3508 Download

• Give and take: effects of genetic admixture on mutation load in endangered Florida panthers
  Alexander Ochoa, David P Onorato, Melody E Roelke-Parker, Melanie Culver, Robert R Fitak
  Journal of Heredity 2022, 113:491-499

2021

• OptM: estimating the optimal number of migration edges on population trees using Treemix
  Robert R Fitak
  Biology Methods and Protocols 2021, 6:bpap017 Download

• PumaPlex100: an expanded tool for puma SNP genotyping with low-yield DNA
  John A Erwin, Robert R Fitak, Melanie Culver
  Conservation Genetics Resources 2021, 13:341-343

2020

• Symbiotic magnetic sensing: raising evidence and beyond
  Eviatar Natan, Robert R Fitak, Yuval Werber, Yoni Vortman
  Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 2020, 375:20190595

• Multiple origins of green coloration in frogs mediated by a novel biliverdin-binding serpin
  Carlos Taboada, Andrés E Brunetti, Mariana L Lyra, Robert R Fitak, Ana Faigón Soverna, Santiago R Ron, María G Lagorio, Célio FB Haddad, Norberto P Lopes, Sönke Johnsen, Julián Faivovich, Lucía B Chemes, Sara E Bari
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 2020, 117:18574–18581

• Pulse magnetization elicits differential gene expression in the central nervous system of the Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus
  David A Ernst, Robert R Fitak, Manfred Schmidt, Charles D Derby, Sönke Johnsen, Kenneth J Lohmann
  Journal of Comparative Physiology A 2020, :

• Genomic signatures of domestication in Old World camels
  Robert R Fitak, E Mohandesan, J Corander, A Yadamsuren, B Chuluunbat, O Abdelhadi, A Raziq, P Nagy, C Walzer, B Faye, PA Burger
  Communications Biology 2020, 3:316 Download

• Gray whales strand more often on days with increased levels of atmospheric radio-frequency noise
  Jesse Granger, Robert Fitak, Lucianne Walkowicz, Sönke Johnsen
  Current Biology 2020, 30:R155-R156

• Comprehensive Genomic Analysis of the Dromedary T Cell Receptor Gamma (TRG) Locus and Identification of a Functional TRGC5 Cassette
  Rachel Antonacci, G Linguiti, Pamela A Burger, V Castelli, A Pala, Robert Fitak, S Massari, Salvatrice Ciccarese
  Developmental and Comparative Immunology 2020, 106:103614

• Effect of a Magnetic Pulse on Orientation Behavior in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
  Robert R. Fitak, Benjamin R Wheeler, Sönke Johnsen
  Behavioural Processes 2020, 172:104058

2019

• De novo Assembly and Annotation from Parental and F1 Puma Genomes of the Florida Panther Genetic Restoration Program
  Alexander Ochoa, David P Onorato, Robert R Fitak, Melody E Roelke-Parker, Melanie Culver
  G3 (Bethesda) 2019, 9:3531-3536 Download

• Beyond the Big Five: Investigating Myostatin Structure, Polymorphism and Expression in Camelus dromedarius
  Maria Favia, Robert R Fitak, Lorenzo Guerra, Ciro L Pierri, Bernard Faye, Ahmad Oulmouden, Pamela A Burger, Elena Ciani
  Frontiers in Genetics 2019, 10:502 Download

• The Expectations and Challenges of Wildlife Disease Research in the Era of Genomics: Forecasting with a Horizon Scan-like Exercise
  Robert R Fitak, Jennifer D Antonides, Eric J Baitchman, Elisa Bonaccorso, Josephine Braun, Steven Kubiski, Elliott Chiu, Anna C Fagre, Roderick B Gagne, Justin S Lee, Jennifer L Malmberg, Mark D Stenglein, Robert J Dusek, David Forgacs, Nicholas M Fountain-Jones, Marie L J Gilbertson, Katherine E L Worsley-Tonks, W Chris Funk, Daryl R Trumbo, Bruno M Ghersi, Wray Grimaldi, Sara E Heisel, Claire M Jardine, Pauline L Kamath, Dibesh Karmacharya, Christopher P Kozakiewicz, Simona Kraberger, Dagan A Loisel, Cait McDonald, Steven Miller, Devon O’Rourke, Caitlin N Ott-Conn, Mónica Páez-Vacas, Alison J Peel, Wendy C Turner, Meredith C VanAcker, Sue VandeWoude, Jill Pecon-Slattery
  Journal of Heredity 2019, 110:261–274

• Genomic signatures of G-protein-coupled receptor expansions reveal functional transitions in the evolution of cephalopod signal transduction
  Elena A Ritschard, Robert R Fitak, Sönke Johnsen, Oleg Simakov
  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2019, 286:20182929 Download

2018 and earlier

• De novo transcriptomics reveal distinct phototransduction signaling components in the retina and skin of a color-changing vertebrate, the hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus)
  Lorian E Schweikert, Robert R Fitak and Sönke Johnsen
  Journal of Comparative Physiology A 2018, 204:475-485

• Spectral sensitivity in ray-finned fishes: diversity, ecology and shared descent
  Lorian E Schweikert, Robert R Fitak, Eleanor M Caves, Tracey T Sutton and Sönke Johnsen
  The Journal of Experimental Biology 2018, 221:jeb89761

• Near absence of differential gene expression in the retina of rainbow trout after exposure to a magnetic pulse: implications for magnetoreception
  Robert R Fitak, Lorian E Schweikert, Benjamin R Wheeler, David A Ernst, Kenneth J Lohmann and Sönke Johnsen
  Biology Letters 2018, 14:20180209

• Genome-wide analysis of SNPs is consistent with no domestic dog ancestry in the endangered Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi)
  Robert R Fitak, Sarah E Rinkevich and Melanie Culver
  Journal of Heredity 2018, 109:372-383

• Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) population history indicates important demographic changes near the mid-Pleistocene transition
  Robert R Fitak and Sönke Johnsen
  Marine Biology 2018, 165:110

• Orientation in pill bugs: an interdisciplinary activity to engage students in concepts of biology, physics & circular statistics
  Robert R Fitak, Eleanor M Caves and Sönke Johnsen
  The American Biology Teacher 2018, 80:608-618

• Unmapped sequencing reads identify additional candidate genes linked to magnetoreception in rainbow trout
  Monica B Arniella, Robert R Fitak and Sönke Johnsen
  Environmental Biology of Fishes 2018, 101:711-721

• Genome sequence of Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, an emerging fungal pathogen of snakes
  Mana Ohkura, Robert R Fitak, Jennifer H Wisecaver, Dan DeBlasio, Faheem Niazi, Michael Egholm, Steven D Rounsley, Chinnappa D Kodira and Marc J Orbach
  Genome Announcements 2017, 5:e00677-17 Download

• Evolutionary and functional mitogenomics associated with the genetic restoration of the Florida panther
  Alexander Ochoa, Dave P Onorato, Robert R Fitak, Melody E Roelke-Parker and Melanie Culver
  Journal of Heredity 2017, 108:449-455

• Mitogenome sequencing in the genus Camelus reveals evidence for purifying selection and long-term divergence between wild and domestic Bactrian camels
  Elmira Mohandesan, Robert R Fitak, Jukka Corander, Adiya Yadamsuren, Battsetseg Chuluunbat, Omer Abdelhadi, Abdul Raziq, Peter Nagy, Gabrielle Stalder, Chris Walzer, Bernard Faye and Pamela A Burger
  Scientific Reports 2017, 7:9970 Download

• Candidate genes mediating magnetoreception in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
  Robert R Fitak, Benjamin R Wheeler, David A Ernst, Kenneth J Lohmann and Sönke Johnsen
  Biology Letters 2017, 13:20170142

• Bringing the analysis of animal orientation data full circle: model-based approaches with maximum likelihood
  Robert R Fitak and Sönke Johnsen
  Journal of Experimental Biology 2017, 220:3878-3882

• The major histocompatibility complex in Old World camelids and low polymorphism of its class II genes
  Martin Plasil, Elmira Mohandesan, Robert R Fitak, P. Musilova, S. Kubickova, Pamela A Burger and Petr Horin
  BMC Genomics 2016, 17:167 Download

• The de novo genome assembly and annotation of a female domestic dromedary of North African origin
  Robert R Fitak, Elmira Mohandesan, Jukka Corander and Pamela A Burger
  Molecular Ecology Resources 2016, 16:314-324 Download

• A new panel of SNP markers for the individual identification of North American pumas
  Robert R Fitak, Ashwin Naidu, Ron W Thompson and Melanie Culver
  Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management 2016, 7:1-15 Download

• Molecular detection of bacteria in the families Rickettsiaceae and Anaplasmataceae in northern crested caracaras (Caracara cheriway)
  John A Erwin, Robert R Fitak, James F Dwyer, Joan L Morrison and Melanie Culver
  Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases 2016, 7:470-474

• Diagnostic single nucleotide polymorphism markers to identify hybridization between dromedary and Bactrian camels
  Emily Ruiz, Elmira Mohandesan, Robert R Fitak and Pamela A Burger
  Conservation Genetics Resources 2015, 7:329-332

• Prospects and challenges for the conservation of farm animal genomic resources, 2015-2025
  Michael William Bruford, Catarina Ginja, Irene Hoffmann, Stephane Joost, Pablo Orozco-terWengel, Florian Alberto, Andreia Amaral, Mario Barbato, Filippo Biscarini, Licia Colli, Mafalda Costa, Ino Curik, Solange Duruz, Maja Ferencakovic, Daniel Fischer, Robert R Fitak, Linn Fenna Groeneveld, Stephen Hall, Olivier Hubert Hanotte, Faiz-ul Hassan, Philippe Helsen, Laura Iacolina, Juha Kantanen, Kevin Leempoel, Johannes Arjen Lenstra, Paolo Ajmone Marsan, Charles Masembe, Hendrik-Jan Megens, Mara J Miele, Markus Neuditschko, Ezequiel L Nicolazzi, Francois Pompanon, Jutta Roosen, Natalia Sevane, Anamarija Smetko, Anamaria Stambuk, Ian Streeter, Sylvie Stucki, China Supakorn, Luis Telo da Gama, Michele Tixier-Boichard, Daniel Wegmann and Xiangjiang Zhan
  Frontiers in Genetics 2015, 6:314 Download

• The prevalence of rickettsial and ehrlichial organisms in Amblyomma americanum ticks collected from Ohio and surrounding areas between 2000 and 2010
  Robert R Fitak, Daryl J Kelly, Mary K Daniels, J Jiang, Allen L Richards and Paul A Fuerst
  Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases 2014, 5:797-800

• Severe reduction in genetic variation in a montane isolate: the endangered Mount Graham red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis)
  Robert R Fitak, John L Koprowski and Melanie Culver
  Conservation Genetics 2013, 14:1233-1241

• Novel primers for complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequencing in mammals
  Ashwin Naidu, Robert R Fitak, Adrian Munguia-Vega and Melanie Culver
  Molecular Ecology Resources 2012, 12:191-196

• Abiotic factors shape microbial diversity in Sonoran Desert soils
  David R Andrew, Robert R Fitak, Adrian Munguia-Vega, Adriana Racolta, Vince G Martinson and Katerina Dontsova
  Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2012, 78:7527-7537 Download

• Genetic methods for biodiversity assessment
  Melanie Culver, Robert R Fitak, Hans-Werner Herrmann
  in Biological diversity: frontiers in measurement and assessment (Eds. Magurran, A.E. & McGill, B.J.) 2010, Oxford University Press, New York:208-218

• Geographic distribution and genetic diversity of the Ehrlichia sp. from Panola Mountain in Amblyomma americanum
  Amanda D Loftis, Tonya R Mixson, Ellen Y Stromdahl, Michael J Yabsley, Laurel E Garrison, Phillip C Williamson, Robert R Fitak, Paul A Fuerst, Daryl J Kelly and Keith W Blount
  BMC Infectious Diseases 2008, 8:54 Download