Rare mycetoma caused by Raghukumaria species, a mangrove-derived dematiaceous fungus in a kidney transplant patient

Shekina Gonzalez-Ferrer; Lauren Yanagimoto-Ogawa; Ran Zhuo; Colette J Matysiak Match; Ashley Dayo; Yuna Kang; Shangxin Yang

doi:10.1016/j.idcr.2025.e02284

Rare mycetoma caused by Raghukumaria species, a mangrove-derived dematiaceous fungus in a kidney transplant patient

IDCases. 2025 Jun 10:41:e02284. doi: 10.1016/j.idcr.2025.e02284. eCollection 2025.

Authors

Shekina Gonzalez-Ferrer¹, Lauren Yanagimoto-Ogawa², Ran Zhuo¹, Colette J Matysiak Match¹, Ashley Dayo¹, Yuna Kang¹, Shangxin Yang¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
² Division of Infectious Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Abstract

We report a rare case of mycetoma after renal transplant in a patient with distant exposure to mangroves during disaster relief efforts in the Caribbean. Histopathology and fungal culture from the skin biopsy revealed findings consistent with chronic mycetoma caused by a dematiaceous mold. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) identified the organism as closely related to Raghukumaria keshaphalae, a fungus originally isolated from mangroves. This case highlights the emerging threat posed by environmental dematiaceous fungi as obscure opportunistic pathogens in the setting of natural disasters, especially for immunocompromised patients, and the pivotal diagnostic role of NGS in invasive fungal infections.

Keywords: Dematiaceous mold; Mycetoma; Next-generation sequencing; Pleosporales; Raghukumaria keshaphalae; Renal transplant.

Publication types

Case Reports