# Acinetobacter—the bad, the ugly, but also the good!

## TL;DR

The paper explores the Acinetobacter genus, highlighting its role as both a harmful pathogen and a beneficial organism for some plants.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates how metagenome-assembled genomes can reveal functional roles of Acinetobacter species in specific environments.

## Key findings

- Acinetobacter calcoaceticus can significantly impact tomato plants.
- Metagenome-assembled genomes help identify and understand bacterial species in their environments.
- Acinetobacter species show functional specialization depending on their host or environment.

## Abstract

The genus Acinetobacter is vast and diverse regarding its hosts. However, it is best known as an opportunistic pathogen that causes hard-to-treat nosocomial infections. Yet, some species of the genus can be beneficial for some hosts. Such is the case of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, which can have a significant impact on tomato plants, as was recently shown in a paper by Robertson et al. (S. Robertson, A. Mosca, S. Ashraf, A. Corral, et al., mSphere 11:e00842-25, 2026, https://doi.org/10.1128/msphere.00842-25). Importantly, that study also exemplifies how metagenomics in general, but metagenome-assembled genomes in particular, can be employed to understand the functional specialization and identity of the bacterial species dwelling in particular environments.