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

ISChip enables absolute quantification of 183 prevalent insertion sequences across diverse environmental samples with a sensitivity of 23-28 copies per reaction.

• Why it matters: Understanding the distribution of insertion sequences is crucial because they drive bacterial genome plasticity and facilitate antimicrobial resistance spread, posing environmental and health risks.
• What they did: The authors developed and validated a high-throughput qPCR array, ISChip, using 119 primer sets to quantify IS elements across 69 samples from air, wastewater, soil, and feces within the One Health continuum.
• The result: ISChip revealed compartmentalized IS communities, identified hotspots like wastewater and feces, and uncovered a conserved core IS assemblage in human feces, highlighting its potential for monitoring genetic pollution.