Why are tiny mites that live and breed deep in your face threatened

Exfoliating, moisturizing and putting on sunscreen every day is standard in many people’s skin care routine.

But what about the mites that clean our pores, like the Demodex folliculorumthat spend their whole lives in the depths of our face?

At night, these 0.3 millimeter-long organisms emerge from the pores to find a new skin follicle and mate with a mate.

A new study has just discovered that these tiny mites may be facing a major problem: their DNA is eroding, which means they are close to extinction.

We can imagine what you are thinking right now. It’s no use running to the bathroom, grabbing all the facial soaps and scrubbing every inch of your skin.

This cleaning will have no effect: mites live in very deep layers of the skin, which cannot be washed off with soap and water.

More than 90% of human beings carry these pets on their face. We provide a home from birth — they are usually passed on from our own mother, during breastfeeding.

Biologist Alejandra Perotti, a professor at the University of Reading in the UK and co-author of the recently published study, says we should be “grateful” for providing a home for mites and having such an intimate relationship with them.

“They are very small and fluffy. There is nothing to worry about having them. They clean our pores and keep them in order,” the expert explained to BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat.

“Don’t worry. Be glad you have a tiny microscopic creature living with you, as they don’t do any damage.”

The study shows how close our relationship with these animals is, but also how mites have the fewest number of genes compared to insects, arachnids or crustaceans.

The gene that protects the body from the mite from ultraviolet light, for example, has been lost. But this even makes sense, since they are only active at night, in times of low light.

And it is precisely this “nocturnal activity” of the mites that can make you scared.

“At night, while we sleep soundly, they visit the pores to have sex and have babies,” says Perotti.

Yes, these creatures are using our pores as love hiding places. A very romantic and pleasant notion.

The study shows that as the genetic diversity of mites declines, their dependence increases — meaning they are at risk of possible extinction.

The research hoped to find a gene that wakes up the mites and puts them to sleep, but it was not present in the samples analyzed.

Instead, the Demodex folliculorum detects a small amount of hormones secreted by our own skin while we sleep — and that’s what wakes them up.

These changes are causing problems. The more these organisms adapt to us, the more genes they lose and eventually become entirely dependent to continue existing.

Because of this dependence, they won’t be able to get out of our pores and find a new mate to mate with. And that, in turn, poses a threat to the future of the species.

But what’s the problem if we lose them forever?

“They are associated with healthy skin. So, if they go extinct, we could face more dermatological problems”, warns Perotti.

‘This text was originally published in https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/geral-61924936‘.