Subcutaneous phaeohyphomycosis caused by Cladosporium devriesii, sp. nov.

A 26-year-old woman from Grand Cayman Island with a 3-month history of a lump in the left breast was presumptively diagnosed as having a carcinoma. A segmental resection was attempted. Histologic examination of the biopsied tissue showed extensive granulomatous inflammation, necrosis, and septate, branched, dematiaceous hyphae in the intralobular ducts as well as in the surrounding tissues. When cultured on Sabouraud dextrose and brain heart infusion agars, the tissue yielded a slow-growing, downy, dematiaceous mould. Microscopically, it produced short, branched and unbranched chains of holoblastic conidia in acropetal manner from erect conidiophores that were characteristic of the genus Cladosporium. The isolate grew well at 36-37 degrees C, but failed to grow above 37 degrees C. It did not liquefy gelatin nor decompose casein, xanthine, hypoxanthine, or tyrosine, but did hydrolyze urea. Comparative studies with other pathogenic and saprophytic species of Cladosporium revealed that it represented an undescribed species. It is named Cladosporium devriesii, sp. nov.