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Setting up a platform for plant-based influenza virus vaccine production in South Africa

Overview of attention for article published in BMC Biotechnology, April 2012
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About this Attention Score

  • In the top 25% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • Among the highest-scoring outputs from this source (#26 of 943)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (93rd percentile)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (93rd percentile)

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1 news outlet
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6 X users
patent
1 patent

Citations

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37 Dimensions

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93 Mendeley
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Title
Setting up a platform for plant-based influenza virus vaccine production in South Africa
Published in
BMC Biotechnology, April 2012
DOI 10.1186/1472-6750-12-14
Pubmed ID
Authors

Elizabeth Mortimer, James M Maclean, Sandiswa Mbewana, Amelia Buys, Anna-Lise Williamson, Inga I Hitzeroth, Edward P Rybicki

Abstract

During a global influenza pandemic, the vaccine requirements of developing countries can surpass their supply capabilities, if these exist at all, compelling them to rely on developed countries for stocks that may not be available in time. There is thus a need for developing countries in general to produce their own pandemic and possibly seasonal influenza vaccines. Here we describe the development of a plant-based platform for producing influenza vaccines locally, in South Africa. Plant-produced influenza vaccine candidates are quicker to develop and potentially cheaper than egg-produced influenza vaccines, and their production can be rapidly upscaled. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of producing a vaccine to the highly pathogenic avian influenza A subtype H5N1 virus, the most generally virulent influenza virus identified to date. Two variants of the haemagglutinin (HA) surface glycoprotein gene were synthesised for optimum expression in plants: these were the full-length HA gene (H5) and a truncated form lacking the transmembrane domain (H5tr). The genes were cloned into a panel of Agrobacterium tumefaciens binary plant expression vectors in order to test HA accumulation in different cell compartments. The constructs were transiently expressed in tobacco by means of agroinfiltration. Stable transgenic tobacco plants were also generated to provide seed for stable storage of the material as a pre-pandemic strategy.

X Demographics

X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 6 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 93 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Chile 1 1%
Kenya 1 1%
United Kingdom 1 1%
Egypt 1 1%
Argentina 1 1%
Denmark 1 1%
Japan 1 1%
United States 1 1%
Unknown 85 91%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 16 17%
Researcher 14 15%
Student > Master 13 14%
Student > Bachelor 13 14%
Student > Postgraduate 10 11%
Other 16 17%
Unknown 11 12%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 39 42%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 10 11%
Engineering 5 5%
Medicine and Dentistry 4 4%
Immunology and Microbiology 3 3%
Other 19 20%
Unknown 13 14%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 19. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 31 January 2023.
All research outputs
#1,715,180
of 23,243,271 outputs
Outputs from BMC Biotechnology
#26
of 943 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#10,555
of 164,513 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Biotechnology
#1
of 16 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,243,271 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 92nd percentile: it's in the top 10% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 943 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 7.7. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 97% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 164,513 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 93% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 16 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 93% of its contemporaries.