Actinomadura welshii sp. nov., a New Mycetoma Agent in Mexico

Actinomadura isolates obtained from seven human mycetoma cases in Mexico were characterized using nucleotide sequence analysis of a portion of the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene. Most isolates were identified as Actinomadura madurae. However, one isolate, LIID-AQ337, showed inconclusive results. To determine its identity, genomic DNA from LIID-AQ337 was subjected to whole-genome sequencing using both short- and long-read sequencing, resulting in a genome of 8,163,638-bp spread in 22 contigs. Comparative analysis against currently available genomes of other Actinomadura species suggested that LIID-AQ337 belongs to a new Actinomadura species. We propose to name it Actinomadura welshii sp. nov in honor of Oliverio Welsh, a Mexican dermatologist dedicated to mycetoma studies in Mexico.