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Recent evolution of the human skin barrier
Author(s) -
Brettmann Erin A.,
Guzman Strong Cristina
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
experimental dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.108
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1600-0625
pISSN - 0906-6705
DOI - 10.1111/exd.13689
Subject(s) - barrier function , epidermis (zoology) , biology , human skin , evolutionary biology , skin barrier , divergence (linguistics) , function (biology) , organism , genetics , anatomy , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , dermatology , linguistics , philosophy
The skin is the first line of defense against the environment, with the epidermis as the outermost tissue providing much of the barrier function. Given its direct exposure to and encounters with the environment, the epidermis must evolve to provide an optimal barrier for the survival of an organism. Recent advances in genomics have identified a number of genes for the human skin barrier that have undergone evolutionary changes since humans diverged from chimpanzees. Here, we highlight a selection of key and innovative genetic findings for skin barrier evolution in our divergence from our primate ancestors and among modern human populations.