The omic approach to parasitic trematode research-a review of techniques and developments within the past 5 years

The evolution of technologies to explore parasite biology at a detailed level has made significant advances in recent years, particularly with the development of omic-based strategies. Whilst extensive efforts have been made in the past to develop therapeutic and prophylactic control strategies for trematode parasites, only the therapeutic anthelmintic approach can be regarded as usable in clinical practice. Currently, there is no commercialised prophylactic strategy (such as vaccination) for protection of the definitive host against any trematode parasite. Since 2010 in particular, the integration of omic technologies, including liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and next-generation sequencing (NGS), has been increasingly reported in trematode-related studies. Both LC-MS and NGS facilitate a better understanding of the biology of trematodes and provide a promising route to identifying clinically important biological characteristics of parasitic trematodes. In this review, we focus on the application, advantages, and disadvantages of omic technologies (LC-MS and NGS) in trematode research within the past 5 years and explore the use and translation of the omic-based research results into practical tools to deal with infection.