Timeline Event - year 2006 Mite allergen activity can also be found in pathogenic micro-organisms   The mite allergen ´chitinase´ is an enzyme that degrades chitin.  Chitin, a linear polymer, comes from the outer layer or exoskeleton of all arthropods and from the cell walls of fungi.  Both dead insects and fungi are an important part of the mite’s extensive diet. The enzyme that degrade chitin can also be found as ‘helpful tools’ for pathogenic micro-organisms such as the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.  Chitinase expressed by this parasite helps it to break out of its mosquito host.* The chitinase allergens Der p 15 and Der p18 from Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus. O’Neil SE, Heinrich TK, Hales BJ, Hazell LA, Holt DC, Fischer K, Thomas WR, Clinical and Experimental Allergy, 2006, 36, 331-339 *’The Non-catalytic Chitin-binding Protein CBP21 from Serratia marcescens Is Essential for Chitin Degradation’, Vaaje-Kolstad G et al, J. Biological Chemistry,280, (31) p.28429- 28497