With the support of 973 and some other programs, scientists from China have completed genome sequencing and gene function analysis of Schistosoma japonicum, representing a great breakthrough in the research of parasitology. The unabridged paper was published in the Nature on July 16, 2009. Just a day earlier, the Press Conference on Achievements in the Research of Schistosoma japonicum Genome was held in Shanghai, with participants from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Natural Science Foundation, Shanghai Science and Technology Commission, the experts and journalists.

According to the appraisal experts of the paper, it is a milestone in the history of parasitology, as it reveals the first genome sequence of platyhelminth. The breakthroughs came on the heels of the research of transcriptome and proteome of Schistosoma japonicum by scientists from China, which is bound to promote the research on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the parasite.