Skip to main content

Omics of parasites 2

Guest Editors:

Anzhelika Butenko, PhD, University of Ostrava, University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic
Vyacheslav Yurchenko, PhD, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic


BMC Genomics welcomed submissions to our Collection on Omics of parasites 2. Parasites, ranging from bacteria to multicellular eukaryotes, exhibit sophisticated life cycles and develop complex interactions with their hosts. The development and application of high-throughput omics techniques enabling simultaneous analysis of virtually all genes, transcripts, and proteins has greatly facilitated research in parasite biology. At the dawn of the sequencing era, the sequencing of parasites’ genomes led to the identification of numerous novel virulence factors and potential drug targets. Nowadays, multi-omics approaches are becoming instrumental for pinpointing molecules and pathways involved in parasite development and its complex network of interactions with the host.

Meet the Guest Editors

Back to top

Anzhelika Butenko, PhD, University of Ostrava, University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic

Dr Anzhelika Butenko is a research scientist in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Protists in the Institute of Parasitology of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Her research interests are in the field of evolutionary biology of unicellular eukaryotes with the focus on the phylum Euglenozoa, which incorporates diverse free-living representatives and human pathogens of the genera Leishmania and Trypanosoma. Dr Butenko has vast experience in bioinformatics and genome analysis.

Vyacheslav Yurchenko, PhD, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic

Dr Yurchenko is a molecular parasitologist, with a strong focus on trypanosomatid research. His main scientific interests are molecular factors of Leishmania virulence, diversity, evolution, and omics of kinetoplastids, and RNA viruses of trypanosomatids. In addition, Dr Yurchenko investigates host-parasite interactions on several levels (how do trypanosomatids affect their hosts, and how, in turn, they are affected by their bacterial and viral endobionts). He considers these topics to be of ultimate importance because they are shedding light on various aspects of trypanosomatid biology and may lead to development of the efficient treatments for the diseases these parasites cause.

About the Collection

Parasites, ranging from bacteria to multicellular eukaryotes, exhibit sophisticated life cycles and develop complex interactions with their hosts. The development and application of high-throughput omics techniques enabling simultaneous analysis of virtually all genes, transcripts, and proteins has greatly facilitated research in parasite biology. At the dawn of the sequencing era, the sequencing of parasites’ genomes led to the identification of numerous novel virulence factors and potential drug targets. Nowadays, multi-omics approaches are becoming instrumental for pinpointing molecules and pathways involved in parasite development and its complex network of interactions with the host.

For this BMC Genomics Collection, we welcome submissions generating or analyzing omics data (including, but not limited to, genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic data) or combining them to shed light on parasites’ biology and the molecular basis of host-parasite interactions. The scope of this Collection is wide and submissions on any kind of parasites are welcome. 


Image credit: fotovapl / stock.adobe.com

  1. The ixodid tick Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann, commonly referred to as the Asian longhorned tick, has expanded its range outside of East Asia into countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and the United Stat...

    Authors: Mohamed Abdallah Mohamed Moustafa, Miranda M. Barnes, Nicole E. Wagner, Deanna Bodine, Kylie Bendele, Pete D. Teel, Perot Saelao and Dana C. Price
    Citation: BMC Genomics 2025 26:307
  2. Eimeria are obligate protozoan parasites, and more than 1,500 species have been reported. However, Eimeria genomes lag behind many other eukaryotes since obtaining many oocysts is difficult due to a lack of susta...

    Authors: Kaihui Zhang, Yudong Cai, Yuancai Chen, Yin Fu, Ziqi Zhu, Jianying Huang, Huikai Qin, Qimeng Yang, Xinmei Li, Yayun Wu, Xun Suo, Yu Jiang and Longxian Zhang
    Citation: BMC Genomics 2025 26:257
  3. Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) is a highly pathogenic virus that poses a significant threat to the health of diverse marine species. Among these, trout species, particularly rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus...

    Authors: Mohammad Ghaderzadeh, Ghodrat Rahimi-Mianji, Ardeshir Nejati-Javaremi and Nastaran Shahbazian
    Citation: BMC Genomics 2025 26:204
  4. Trypanosoma cruzi, the protozoan causing Chagas disease, is responsible for a neglected tropical disease affecting millions in Latin America. Its genome contains rapidly evolving multigene families, such as mucin...

    Authors: Aldana Alexandra Cepeda Dean, Luisa Berná, Carlos Robello, Carlos Andrés Buscaglia and Virginia Balouz
    Citation: BMC Genomics 2025 26:194
  5. Trypanosomatids include the genera Trypanosoma and Leishmania, which are the etiological agents of important human diseases. These pathogens present unique mechanisms of gene expression characterized by functiona...

    Authors: Aurora Diotallevi, Stefano Amatori, Giuseppe Persico, Gloria Buffi, Enrica Sordini, Marco Giorgio, Mirco Fanelli and Luca Galluzzi
    Citation: BMC Genomics 2025 26:167
  6. The nematode phylum includes many species key to soil food webs with trophic behaviours extending from feeding on microbes to macrofauna and plant roots. Among these, the plant parasitic cyst nematodes retain ...

    Authors: Akshita Jain, Tongda Li, Daniel C. Huston, Jatinder Kaur, Conrad Trollip, John Wainer, Mike Hodda, Katherine Linsell, Ian T. Riley, Halil Toktay, Eniola Ajibola Olowu, Jacqueline Edwards, Brendan Rodoni and Timothy Sawbridge
    Citation: BMC Genomics 2025 26:158
  7. Systematic genomics-guided population-based studies on the neglected malaria parasites, P. malariae, P. ovale curtisi, and P. ovale wallikeri species remain challenging due to their low parasitemia, underestimati...

    Authors: Fathia Ben-Rached, Amit Kumar Subudhi, Chang Li, Mariah Alawi, Rohit Satyam, Sui Xu, Guoding Zhu, Raeece Naeem, Sara Mfarrej, Di Liu, Zenaida Stead, Caroline Askonas, Yaobao Liu, Jun Cao and Arnab Pain
    Citation: BMC Genomics 2025 26:118
  8. The use of microsporidia as a disease-transmission-blocking tool has garnered significant attention. Microsporidia sp. MB, known for its ability to block malaria development in mosquitoes, is an optimal candidate...

    Authors: Lilian Mbaisi Ang’ang’o, Jeremy Keith Herren and Özlem Tastan Bishop
    Citation: BMC Genomics 2024 25:1132
  9. The study of rodent malaria parasites has significantly advanced our understanding of malaria parasite biology and host responses to parasite infections. There are four well-characterized rodent malaria parasi...

    Authors: Jian Wu, Cihan Oguz, Awet Alem Teklemichael, Fangzheng Xu, Rachel V Stadler, Amuza Byaruhanga Lucky, Shengfa Liu, Osamu Kaneko, Justin Lack and Xin-zhuan Su
    Citation: BMC Genomics 2024 25:1035
  10. Two strains of the endoparasitoid Cotesia typhae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) present a differential parasitism success on the host, Sesamia nonagrioides (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). One is virulent on both permissive ...

    Authors: Samuel Gornard, Pascaline Venon, Florian Lasfont, Thierry Balliau, Laure Kaiser and Florence Mougel
    Citation: BMC Genomics 2024 25:940
  11. The Bucephalidae is a large family of digenean trematodes but most previous analyses of its phylogenetic position have relied on a single mitochondrial gene or morphological features. Mitochondrial genomes (mi...

    Authors: Ye Hu, Tong Ye, Hong Zou, Gui-Tang Wang, Wen-Xiang Li and Dong Zhang
    Citation: BMC Genomics 2024 25:862
  12. SET domain-containing histone lysine methyltransferases (HKMTs) and JmjC domain-containing histone demethylases (JHDMs) are essential for maintaining dynamic changes in histone methylation across parasite deve...

    Authors: Qindong Liang, Shangdi Zhang, Zeen Liu, Jinming Wang, Hong Yin, Guiquan Guan and Chongge You
    Citation: BMC Genomics 2024 25:804

    The Correction to this article has been published in BMC Genomics 2024 25:891

  13. Gastropods of the genus Biomphalaria (Family Planorbidae) are exploited as vectors by Schistosoma mansoni, the most common causative agent of human intestinal schistosomiasis. Using improved genomic resources, ov...

    Authors: Lijun Lu, Lijing Bu, Martina R. Laidemitt, Si-Ming Zhang and Eric S. Loker
    Citation: BMC Genomics 2024 25:608

Submission Guidelines

Back to top

This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Omics of parasites 2" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.