Bibliometric and visual analysis of single-cell sequencing from 2010 to 2022

Ling Chen; Yantong Wan; Tingting Yang; Qi Zhang; Yuting Zeng; Shuqi Zheng; Zhishan Ling; Yupeng Xiao; Qingyi Wan; Ruili Liu; Chun Yang; Guozhi Huang; Qing Zeng

doi:10.3389/fgene.2023.1285599

Bibliometric and visual analysis of single-cell sequencing from 2010 to 2022

Front Genet. 2024 Jan 11:14:1285599. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1285599. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Ling Chen¹, Yantong Wan², Tingting Yang³, Qi Zhang^{1

3}, Yuting Zeng¹, Shuqi Zheng^{1

3}, Zhishan Ling^{1

3}, Yupeng Xiao^{1

3}, Qingyi Wan³, Ruili Liu³, Chun Yang⁴, Guozhi Huang^{1

3}, Qing Zeng^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
² Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Proteomics, Department of Pathophysiology, School of BasicMedical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
³ School of Rehabilitation Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
⁴ Dongguan Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Tissue Engineering, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, China.

Abstract

Background: Single-cell sequencing (SCS) is a technique used to analyze the genome, transcriptome, epigenome, and other genetic data at the level of a single cell. The procedure is commonly utilized in multiple fields, including neurobiology, immunology, and microbiology, and has emerged as a key focus of life science research. However, a thorough and impartial analysis of the existing state and trends of SCS-related research is lacking. The current study aimed to map the development trends of studies on SCS during the years 2010-2022 through bibliometric software. Methods: Pertinent papers on SCS from 2010 to 2022 were obtained using the Web of Science Core Collection. Research categories, nations/institutions, authors/co-cited authors, journals/co-cited journals, co-cited references, and keywords were analyzed using VOSviewer, the R package "bibliometric", and CiteSpace. Results: The bibliometric analysis included 9,929 papers published between 2010 and 2022, and showed a consistent increase in the quantity of papers each year. The United States was the source of the highest quantity of articles and citations in this field. The majority of articles were published in the periodical Nature Communications. Butler A was the most frequently quoted author on this topic, and his article "Integrating single-cell transcriptome data across diverse conditions, technologies, and species" has received numerous citations to date. The literature and keyword analysis showed that studies involving single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) were prominent in this discipline during the study period. Conclusion: This study utilized bibliometric techniques to visualize research in SCS-related domains, which facilitated the identification of emerging patterns and future directions in the field. Current hot topics in SCS research include COVID-19, tumor microenvironment, scRNA-seq, and neuroscience. Our results are significant for scholars seeking to identify key issues and generate new research ideas.

Keywords: CiteSpace; VOSviewer; bibliometric; single-cell sequencing; visual analysis.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos 82002380 and 82072528), the Natural Science Foundation project of Guangdong Province (Grant No. 2022A1515012460), the Guangdong Medical University-Southern Medical University twinning research team project (Grant No. 4SG23033G), the College Students’ Innovative Training Plan Program of China (Grant No. 202312121048), the Special Program for Prevention and Rehabilitation of Hearing and Language Disabilities of the China Disabled Persons Federation (Grant No. 2023CDPFHS-12).