Strain IMCC26207 was isolated from the surface layer of Lake Soyang in Korea by the dilution-to-extinction culturing method, using a liquid medium prepared with filtered and autoclaved lake water. The strain could neither be maintained in a synthetic medium other than natural freshwater medium nor grown on solid agar plates. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain IMCC26207 formed a distinct lineage in the order Acidimicrobiales of the phylum Actinobacteria. The closest relative among the previously identified bacterial taxa was "Candidatus Microthrix parvicella" with 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 91.7%. Here, the draft genome sequence of strain IMCC26207, a freshwater actinobacterium, is reported with the description of the genome properties and annotation summary. The draft genome consisted of 10 contigs with a total size of 3,316,799 bp and an average G+C content of 57.3%. The IMCC26207 genome was predicted to contain 2,975 protein-coding genes and 51 non-coding RNA genes, including 45 tRNA genes. Approximately 76.8% of the protein coding genes could be assigned with a specific function. Annotation of the IMCC26207 genome showed several traits of adaptation to living in oligotrophic freshwater environments, such as phosphorus-limited condition. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that the genome of strain IMCC26207 was distinct from that of "Candidatus Microthrix" strains; therefore, we propose the name "Candidatus Limnosphaera aquatica" for this bacterium.
Keywords: Actinobacteria; dilution-to-extinction culturing; freshwater; genome; “Candidatus Limnosphaera”; “Candidatus Microthrix”.