Convergent Architecture of the Acinetobacter baumannii Resistome: A Co-Occurrence Network Analysis of 20,739 Genomes...

Acinetobacter baumannii is a critical priority ESKAPE pathogen whose resistome co-occurrence architecture, temporal dynamics, and One Health distribution remain poorly characterized. A total of 20,739 genomes (2000-2025; NCBI, PubMLST, BV-BRC) were annotated using CARD-RGI v6.0.5, AMRFinderPlus v4.2.7, and ResFinder v4.7.2. A co-occurrence network was constructed using Jaccard filtering (≥10%; >0.30) with Bayesian bootstrap and Louvain. Temporal trends were assessed by linear regression with Benjamini-Hochberg (2003-2024), and One Health compartments were assessed using balanced PERMANOVA (Bray-Curtis, 999 permutations). The network comprised 41 nodes and 82 edges with a small-world topology; five communities and nine hub genes were identified. Eighteen ARGs showed significant trends (FDR); six last-resort determinants (blaOXA-23-like, blaNDM, armA, ftsI, msr(E), mph(E)) increased in prevalence. The compartment explained significant variance in the resistome (R² = 0.210; p < 0.001). abaF showed the highest One Health convergence (0.814), and blaNDM was detected in 52 countries. The A. baumannii resistome exhibits a convergent architecture of co-resistance: a small-world network preserved in One Health compartments for more than two decades. The rise in six last-resort determinants signals a population-based transition toward broader profiles, establishing a framework for integrated antimicrobial resistance surveillance.