The ISChip: A high-throughput qPCR array for absolute quantification of insertion sequences across the One Health continuum.

ISChip enables absolute quantification of 183 insertion sequences across diverse environmental samples with high sensitivity, revealing key hotspots in the One Health continuum.

• Why it matters: Understanding the distribution and abundance of insertion sequences is crucial for assessing their role in spreading antimicrobial resistance and environmental genetic hazards, but current methods lack the resolution and throughput needed.
• What they did: Researchers developed ISChip, a high-capacity qPCR array validated with 119 primer sets, capable of detecting as few as 23-28 copies per reaction across 69 samples from air, wastewater, soil, and feces.
• The result: The platform uncovered distinct IS community patterns, identified major hotspots, and revealed a conserved core IS assemblage in human feces, advancing monitoring of genetic pollution and microbial evolution.