Posted on 06/22/2022 11:58:24 AM PDT by Red Badger
Demodex folliculorum Mite on Skin
Image showing Demodex folliculorum mite on skin under Hirox microscope. Credit: University of Reading
The secret lives of mites in the skin of our faces.
First ever full DNA analysis of mites that live in the hair follicles of all humans reveals explanations for their bizarre mating habits, body features and evolutionary future.
Microscopic mites that live in human pores and mate on our faces at night are becoming such simplified organisms due to their unusual lifestyles that they may soon become one with humans, new research has found.
Demodex folliculorum Penis
Image shows the unusually-positioned penis of a Demodex folliculorum mite. Credit: University of Reading
The mites are passed on during birth and are carried by almost every human, with numbers peaking in adults as the pores grow bigger. They measure around 0.3mm long, are found in the hair follicles on the face and nipples, including the eyelashes, and eat the sebum naturally released by cells in the pores. They become active at night and move between follicles looking to mate.
The first ever genome sequencing study of the D. folliculorum mite found that their isolated existence and resulting inbreeding is causing them to shed unnecessary genes and cells and move towards a transition from external parasites to internal symbionts.
Demodex folliculorum Anus Microscope image of the posterior end of the anus of a Demodex folliculorum mite. The presence of an anus on this mite had been wrongly overlooked by some previously, but this study confirmed its presence. Credit: University of Reading
Dr. Alejandra Perotti, Associate Professor in Invertebrate Biology at the University of Reading, who co-led the research, said: “We found these mites have a different arrangement of body part genes to other similar species due to them adapting to a sheltered life inside pores. These changes to their DNA have resulted in some unusual body features and behaviors.”
The in-depth study of the Demodex folliculorum DNA revealed:
* Due to their isolated existence, with no exposure to external threats, no competition to infest hosts, and no encounters with other mites with different genes, genetic reduction has caused them to become extremely simple organisms with tiny legs powered by just 3 single cell muscles. They survive with the minimum repertoire of proteins – the lowest number ever seen in this and related species.
* This gene reduction is the reason for their nocturnal behavior too. The mites lack UV protection and have lost the gene that causes animals to be awakened by daylight. They have also been left unable to produce melatonin – a compound that makes small invertebrates active at night – however, they are able to fuel their all-night mating sessions using the melatonin secreted by human skin at dusk.
* Their unique gene arrangement also results in the mites’ unusual mating habits. Their reproductive organs have moved anteriorly, and males have a penis that protrudes upwards from the front of their body meaning they have to position themselves underneath the female when mating, and copulate as they both cling onto the human hair. One of their genes has inverted, giving them a particular arrangement of mouth appendages extra protruding for gathering food. This aids their survival at a young age.
* The mites have many more cells at a young age compared to their adult stage. This counters the previous assumption that parasitic animals reduce their cell numbers early in development. The researchers argue this is the first step toward the mites becoming symbionts.
* The lack of exposure to potential mates that could add new genes to their offspring may have set the mites on course for an evolutionary dead end, and potential extinction. This has been observed in bacteria living inside cells before, but never in an animal.
* Some researchers had assumed the mites do not have an anus and therefore must accumulate all their feces through their lifetimes before releasing it when they die, causing skin inflammation. The new study, however, confirmed they do have anuses and so have been unfairly blamed for many skin conditions.
VIDEO AT LINK................
Demodex folliculorum mite under a microscope walking. Credit: University of Reading
The research was led by Bangor University and the University of Reading, in collaboration with the University of Valencia, University of Vienna and National University of San Juan. It is published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.
Dr. Henk Braig, co-lead author from Bangor University and the National University of San Juan, said: “Mites have been blamed for a lot of things. The long association with humans might suggest that they also could have simple but important beneficial roles, for example, in keeping the pores in our face unplugged.”
Reference: “Human follicular mites: Ectoparasites becoming symbionts” by Gilbert Smith, Alejandro Manzano Marín, Mariana Reyes-Prieto, Cátia Sofia Ribeiro Antunes, Victoria Ashworth, Obed Nanjul Goselle, Abdulhalem Abdulsamad A. Jan, Andrés Moya, Amparo Latorre, M. Alejandra Perotti and Henk R Braig, 21 June 2022, Molecular Biology and Evolution.
DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msac125
Uranus, of course!
this story creeped me out so bad I went out and bought a product that is an eyelid scrub. I have symptoms of sjogren’s and some people say this product helps ...but I really also got it because of this story
“Where do they go during the daytime?”
They have regular jobs, duh? Oh and telling them you have a headache at bedtime does not stop them.
I’ll never sleep again. Thanks for posting this…
Cue the MST3K host segment about Mike getting his eyelash mites removed…
i have decided to sell my pre-owned false eyelashes, any bidders out there??
Does compulsive showering keep them at bay? Any substance one can use on one’s body to keep them away? Is this different from dust mites?
I'm wondering if their acne problems are due to insufficient hygiene. Specifically, daily HOT showers?
In my junior and senior year of high school, I was on the swim team and of course, hot showers before and after practices and meets were normal and I never had a problem with acne nor did any of my fellow teammates..........Just a thought.
That explains the cigarette smoke in my bedroom every morning.
Off to take a shower. Then set my bed on fire 🔥
A little bit of non-human DNA in the transporter machine.
Poof, you're now miteman.
So all these years and I’ve been involved in nightly orgies?
Hefner had nothing on me.
Ivermec kills ear mites in dogs as well as mange mites.
I wonder if these could be eliminated with Ivermec.
That is the problem with some of these posts. All moan and groan but no cure.
TMI
I feel so disgustedly used.
Symbiotes?
If they don’t try to take over my mind, and make my eyes glow, I’m not sure there’s really a problem.
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