Back to the roots – How the freshwater polyp Hydra can help to understand the human hair follicle microbiome

At a first glance, the human hair follicle and the freshwater polyp Hydra do not have much in common. However, in a recently published debate article in the Journal BioEssays “Problems & Paradigms” from our PhD Student, Marta Lousada, the authors compare the way Hydra manages its microbiota to the way the microbiome is regulated in the human hair follicle.

Interestingly, the general principles in microbiome management are very similar between these two. Since Hydra is easier to access than human hair follicles, the authors suggest it can be used as experimental model to better understand the role of the microbiome in hair and skin biology and to support the development of novel, microbiome-targeting therapeutics for human hair and skin disease.

Find the full story here: Hydra and the hair follicle – An unconventional comparative biology approach to exploring the human holobiont. Lousada, M.B., Lachnit, T., Edelkamp, J., Paus, R., & Bosch, T.C.G¸ BioEssays, (2022) read the full article here.