Microscopic mites have been living in the skin pores of people for quite some time now. They embed themselves into our dermal system every day. Since discovering how comfy the human skins are, they decided to dwell in us for generations.
In a new study, researchers suggest that this particular mite species, known as Demodex folliculorum, might soon become part of our bodies due to the tissues we have that cater to them and the unusual lifestyle.
Demodex folliculorum: Microscopic Mites in Our Skin
Microscopic mites have been present in a person's body from the day they were born. The majority of older people get higher rates of mite population in their skins due to the pores that get bigger as we age.
The majority of mites that live in our little skin holes have an average length of about 0.3 millimeters. They are mostly found in the pores of hair follicles and nipples. Their source of nutrition is the sebum released by the cells in our pores.
The mites are highly active at night when they move between follicles and try to find the best mate for the mating process.
In previous genome sequencing conducted over the Demodex folliculorum, scientists found the mites have been gradually transitioning from external parasites to internal symbionts due to the changes in their cells and modification of useful genes brought by their inbreeding and isolation in the skins of a human body.
University of Reading School of Biological Sciences specialist and co-author of the study Alejandra Perotti explained in a PhysOrg report that the mites obtained various changes in their body part genes because of the unusual conditions they live through and have adapted in our pores.
Perotti continued that the DNA of the Demodex folliculorum shifted significantly and allowed the organisms to change their behaviors and body features entirely.
Mites Evolved Significantly Through Ages of Living in Human Pores
The lack of competition and exposure to threats gave the mites a genetic reduction that pushed them to become extremely simple microorganisms with tiny legs and become powered with only three single-cell muscles and the lowest number of proteins ever recorded from related species.
The gene reduction of Demodex folliculorum made them lack UV protection and made their melatonin production completely absent from their system. But instead of being idle during nighttime, the organisms become highly active through the melatonin secreted by the human skin.
Their physical anatomy, including their reproductive organs, also changed over time, leaving males to position themselves beneath females while clinging to the human hair during mating. Their mouths protruded, allowing an easy nutrition consumption and a high survival rate even for newborn and younger mites.
Contrary to initial studies on mites, the latest findings reveal that the animals have an actual functioning anus and might have been unfairly blamed for human skin conditions due to the belief that the feces accumulated during their lifetime explodes throughout our pores when they die.
The findings were published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, titled "Human follicular mites: Ectoparasites becoming symbionts."
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