I've got you under my skin: inflammatory response to elephant seal's lice

LEONARDI, M. S.; KRMPOTIC, C.; BARBEITO, C.; SOTO, F.; LOZA, C. M.; VERA, R.; NEGRETE, J.

MEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENTOMOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Año: 2021 vol. 35 p. 658 - 662

0269-283X

Seals (Phocidae) undergo an annual cycle of moulting that implies hairregeneration, and in the case of southern elephant seals, it also involves the superficial strata of the epidermis. Therefore, surviving the moulting period is crucial fortheir obligate and permanent ectoparasites. Throughout evolutionary time, sucking lice(Echinophtiriidae) have developed morphological, behavioural and ecological adaptations to cope with the amphibious lifestyle of their hosts. Lepidophthirus macrorhini,the Southern elephant seal louse species, faces the additional challenge of survivingattached to the host during the moulting period. Since lice live on the skin, L. macrorhinihas developed a unique survival strategy by piercing the skin of their host, thus keeping them protected from moulting. During fieldwork in Patagonia and Antarctica, skinsamples with lice within were collected for histological analysis to assess whether theseparasites caused damage to the host. Lice generate an inflammatory process in the host?sdermis, and these lesions could alter the normal chemical and mechanical protectiveproperties of the skin facilitating secondary infections. Further studies that analyse thepotential pathogens in those skin lesions are necessary to properly assess the real impactof ectoparasites on their host health.