The first isolation of Nocardia veterana from a human mycetoma.

The clinical isolates from biopsy specimen human subcutaneous nodule developed orange-colored and wrinkled colonies on Sabouraud's dextrose agar at 24 C for 2 weeks. The isolates were aerobic and gram-positive. The bacteria were rod-shaped to coccoid and 1 x 5 microm in size. The assimilation tests revealed that the clinical isolate was identical to a reference strain of Nocardia veterana. A nucleotide sequence analysis of the 16S ribosomal DNA from the isolate and a reference strain of N. veterana showed 99.8% similarity. All data are consistent with the conclusion that the isolate in this human case of mycetoma is N. veterana.