A multidimensional framework for assessing riverine health risks from Acinetobacter species: integrating pathogenicity, resistome-mobilome-virulome signatures, and abundance

Abstract

Acinetobacter represents a genus of bacteria characterized by exceptional ecological adaptability and clinical pathogenicity, with numerous species implicated in multidrug-resistant infections. Their dissemination in aquatic environments poses a significant threat to public health. Rivers traversing densely populated regions serve as dynamic ecological corridors that mediate the exchange of microbial populations between anthropogenic and natural environments, emerging as pivotal reservoirs and dissemination pathways for Acinetobacter species. Despite being a keystone group bridging clinical and environmental microbiology, there remains a lack of systematic methods for assessing its environmental health risks. In this study, a multidimensional risk assessment framework was established, integrating metagenomic sequencing with advanced bioinformatics to characterize Acinetobacter-associated hazards in aquatic ecosystems. This framework incorporates pathogenicity profiling, resistome-mobilome-virulome annotation, and abundance quantification at the metagenome-assembled genome (MAG) level. Using the Yangtze River as a model system, the framework was applied to systematically evaluate the health risks posed by Acinetobacter. Key steps included determination of pathogenic potential, comprehensive screening of antibiotic resistance genes, virulence factors, and mobile genetic elements, followed by integrative risk scoring based on MAG-specific functional attributes and relative abundance. This approach overcomes limitations of traditional culture-dependent or abundance-centric assessments and enables rapid, high-resolution evaluation of microbial threats in complex aquatic environments.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Acinetobacter species / Urban river / Health risk assessment / Antibiotic resistance / Pathogenicity

Highlight

	● A riverine Acinetobacter -centered health risk framework was developed.
	● Framework integrated pathogenicity, abundance, and resistome-mobilome-virulome data.
	● < 10% of Acinetobacter MAGs from the Yangtze River were classified as high-risk.
	● Most sites along the Yangtze River exhibited low to medium-low Acinetobacter risk.

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