Knocking down schistosomes – promise for lentiviral transduction in parasites

•We review some key applications of RNAi to Schistosoma mansoni.•We appraise delivery systems for transgenesis and stable gene silencing.•We discuss prospects of lentiviral transduction for functional genomic explorations of parasites.

Underpinned by major advances in our understanding of the genomes of schistosomes, progress in the development of functional genomic tools is providing unique prospects to gain insights into the intricacies of the biology of these blood flukes, their host relationships, and the diseases that they cause. This article reviews some key applications of double-stranded RNA interference (RNAi) in Schistosoma mansoni, appraises delivery systems for transgenesis and stable gene silencing, considers ways of increasing efficiency and specificity of gene silencing, and discusses the prospects of using a lentivirus delivery system for future functional genomic–phenomic explorations of schistosomes and other parasites. The ability to achieve effective and stable gene perturbation in parasites has major biological implications and could facilitate the development of new interventions.