The genomic sequence of str. N139 reveals a species that thrives in cold waters and extreme environmental conditions.

We report the genome sequence of str. N139, isolated from a high-altitude Andean lake. Comparative genomic analyses of the genomes available suggest that our strain belongs to the same species as the previously reported str. RW-2 and str. GIC 31. We describe this species and propose the name to group them. 'Chiri qhucha' in Quechua means 'cold lake', which is a common origin of these three cosmopolitan Exiguobacteria. The 2,952,588-bp str. N139 genome contains one chromosome and three megaplasmids. The genome analysis of the Andean strain suggests the presence of enzymes that confer str. N139 the ability to grow under multiple environmental extreme conditions, including high concentrations of different metals, high ultraviolet B radiation, scavenging for phosphorous and coping with high salinity. Moreover, the regulation of its tryptophan biosynthesis suggests that novel pathways remain to be discovered, and that these pathways might be fundamental in the amino acid metabolism of the microbial community from Laguna Negra, Argentina.