ABSTRACT
Pyrenochaeta is dark-walled, coelomycete genus in the order Dothideales that produces asexual fruit bodies during its life cycle. Members of this genus are widely distributed in the environment, soil, wood, and plant debris and are also encountered as plant pathogens. Several Pyrenochaeta species such as P. romeroi and P. mackinnonii are involved as agents of chronic, suppuratives, and subcutaneous infections in immuno-competent patients after traumatic implantation, ultimately leading to mycetoma. In addition, Pyrenochaeta species are occasionally implicated in onychomycosis and keratitis as well as deep, non-mycetomatous infections. Although Pyrenochaeta is a relatively infrequent cause of human diseases in comparison with black yeast genera Cladophialophora, Exophiala, and Fonsecaea, in the order Chaetothyriales, their similarity in morphological, biological, and clinical terms make correct identi–cation of these organisms essential in order to implement effective control and prevention strategies.
