World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
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Plant Science and Agronomy
USA
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Plant Science and Agronomy

D-Index
95
Citations
36510
World Ranking
205
National Ranking
71

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Plant Science and Agronomy in United States Leader Award
  • 2012 - US President's National Medal of Science "For pioneering studies on chemical coevolution and the genetic basis of insect-plant interactions, and for enthusiastic commitment to public engagement that inspires others about the wonders of science.", Award presented by President Barack Obama at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on November 20, 2014.
  • 1996 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • 1994 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences
  • 1991 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
  • 1988 - George Mercer Award, The Ecological Society of America
  • 1987 - Fellow of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation

Overview

What is she best known for?

The fields of study she is best known for:

  • Ecology
  • Botany
  • Gene

May R. Berenbaum mainly focuses on Botany, Ecology, Furanocoumarin, Herbivore and Wild parsnip. Her Botany research integrates issues from Biochemistry and Cytochrome P450. Her Cytochrome P450 study combines topics in areas such as Xenobiotic and Gene.

Her Ecology study incorporates themes from Biological evolution and Detoxication. Her research in Furanocoumarin focuses on subjects like Toxicity, which are connected to Noctuidae. Her biological study spans a wide range of topics, including Evolutionary biology, Insect, Resistance and Invasive species.

Her most cited work include:

  • Insights into social insects from the genome of the honeybee Apis mellifera (1472 citations)
  • Molecular mechanisms of metabolic resistance to synthetic and natural xenobiotics (1188 citations)
  • Functional and evolutionary insights from the genomes of three parasitoid Nasonia species. (705 citations)

What are the main themes of her work throughout her whole career to date?

Her main research concerns Botany, Ecology, Herbivore, Furanocoumarin and Biochemistry. Her research on Botany often connects related areas such as Horticulture. Coevolution and Ecology are among the areas of Ecology where May R. Berenbaum concentrates her study.

Her study connects Insect and Herbivore. Her Furanocoumarin research is multidisciplinary, incorporating perspectives in Bergapten, Papilio polyxenes and Angelicin. Her work deals with themes such as Helicoverpa zea, Gene and Detoxification, which intersect with Cytochrome P450.

She most often published in these fields:

  • Botany (31.46%)
  • Ecology (18.88%)
  • Herbivore (14.61%)

What were the highlights of her more recent work (between 2013-2021)?

  • Ecology (18.88%)
  • Amyelois transitella (3.37%)
  • Botany (31.46%)

In recent papers she was focusing on the following fields of study:

The scientist’s investigation covers issues in Ecology, Amyelois transitella, Botany, Pesticide and Zoology. Her work on Species richness, Entomophagy, Insect and Range as part of general Ecology research is frequently linked to Antherina suraka, bridging the gap between disciplines. Her Botany research focuses on Pastinaca, Introduced species and Pollen.

Her research is interdisciplinary, bridging the disciplines of Herbivore and Pastinaca. Her research on Pesticide also deals with topics like

  • Toxicology which is related to area like Honey Bees,
  • Nectar which intersects with area such as Propolis, Longevity, Food science, Xenobiotic and Quercetin,
  • Honey bee which is related to area like Biotechnology, Royal jelly, Eusociality and Biochemistry. Her Zoology study frequently links to adjacent areas such as Cytochrome P450.

Between 2013 and 2021, her most popular works were:

  • Xenobiotic detoxification pathways in honey bees (125 citations)
  • Disruption of quercetin metabolism by fungicide affects energy production in honey bees (Apis mellifera) (58 citations)
  • A dietary phytochemical alters caste-associated gene expression in honey bees (46 citations)

In her most recent research, the most cited papers focused on:

  • Ecology
  • Botany
  • Gene

Her primary scientific interests are in Honey bee, Amyelois transitella, Pesticide, Nectar and Western honey bee. She has researched Amyelois transitella in several fields, including Toxicology, Bifenthrin and Piperonyl butoxide. May R. Berenbaum interconnects Xenobiotic and Pollinator in the investigation of issues within Pesticide.

The study incorporates disciplines such as Apoidea, Biochemistry and Function in addition to Western honey bee. Her Aspergillus flavus research is under the purview of Botany. May R. Berenbaum focuses mostly in the field of Cytochrome P450, narrowing it down to matters related to Gene and, in some cases, Ecology.

Best Publications

  • Molecular mechanisms of metabolic resistance to synthetic and natural xenobiotics

    Xianchun Li;Mary A. Schuler;May R. Berenbaum

  • Insights into social insects from the genome of the honeybee Apis mellifera

    George M. Weinstock;Gene E. Robinson;Richard A. Gibbs;Kim C. Worley

  • Functional and evolutionary insights from the genomes of three parasitoid Nasonia species.

    John H. Werren;Stephen Richards;Christopher A. Desjardins;Oliver Niehuis

  • A deficit of detoxification enzymes: pesticide sensitivity and environmental response in the honeybee

    Charles Claudianos;Hilary Ranson;R M Johnson;Sunita Biswas;Sunita Biswas

  • Genome sequences of the human body louse and its primary endosymbiont provide insights into the permanent parasitic lifestyle

    Ewen F. Kirkness;Brian J. Haas;Brian J. Haas;Weilin Sun;Henk R. Braig

  • The carbon–nutrient balance hypothesis: its rise and fall

    J.G. Hamilton;A.R. Zangerl;E.H. DeLucia;M.R. Berenbaum

  • CONSTRAINTS ON CHEMICAL COEVOLUTION: WILD PARSNIPS AND THE PARSNIP WEBWORM.

    M. R. Berenbaum;A. R. Zangerl;J. K. Nitao

  • Coumarins and Caterpillars: A Case for Coevolution

    May R. Berenbaum

  • Antioxidant capacity and correlated characteristics of 14 unifloral honeys

    S Frankel;G E Robinson;M R Berenbaum

  • The chemistry of defense: theory and practice.

    May R. Berenbaum

  • Adaptive Significance of Midgut pH in Larval Lepidoptera

    M. Berenbaum

  • Xenobiotic detoxification pathways in honey bees

    May R Berenbaum;Reed M Johnson

  • Climate change: Resetting plant-insect interactions

    Evan H. DeLucia;Paul D. Nabity;Jorge A. Zavala;May R. Berenbaum

  • Insects and the plant surface

    May R. Berenbaum

  • Honey constituents up-regulate detoxification and immunity genes in the western honey bee Apis mellifera

    Wenfu Mao;Mary A. Schuler;May R. Berenbaum

  • CYP9Q-mediated detoxification of acaricides in the honey bee (Apis mellifera)

    Wenfu Mao;Mary A. Schuler;May R. Berenbaum

  • Honeys from different floral sources as inhibitors of enzymatic browning in fruit and vegetable homogenates.

    Lei Chen;Amar Mehta;May Berenbaum;and Arthur R. Zangerl

  • Chemical phenotype matching between a plant and its insect herbivore

    May R. Berenbaum;Arthur R. Zangerl

  • Impact of folivory on photosynthesis is greater than the sum of its holes

    A. R. Zangerl;J. G. Hamilton;T. J. Miller;A. R. Crofts

  • Toxicity of a furanocoumarin to armyworms: a case of biosynthetic escape from insect herbivores.

    May R Berenbaum

  • Absence of toxicity of Bacillus thuringiensis pollen to black swallowtails under field conditions

    C. L. Wraight;A. R. Zangerl;M. J. Carroll;M. R. Berenbaum

  • Jasmonate and salicylate induce expression of herbivore cytochrome P450 genes

    Xianchun Li;Mary A. Schuler;May R. Berenbaum

  • Changes in transcript abundance relating to colony collapse disorder in honey bees (Apis mellifera).

    Reed M. Johnson;Jay D. Evans;Gene E. Robinson;May R. Berenbaum

  • Toxicity of angular furanocoumarins to swallowtail butterflies: escalation in a coevolutionary arms race?

    May Berenbaum;Paul Feeny

  • Elevated CO2 reduces leaf damage by insect herbivores in a forest community

    Rachel G. Knepp;Jason G. Hamilton;Jacqueline E. Mohan;Arthur R. Zangerl

  • Insect-plant interactions

    James Ray Miller;May R. Berenbaum;Thomas A. Miller

  • Herbivores: Their Interactions with Secondary Plant Metabolites Ecological and Evolutionary Processes: Second Edition

    Gerald A. Rosenthal;May R. Berenbaum

Frequent Co-Authors

Arthur R. Zangerl
Arthur R. Zangerl University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Mary A. Schuler
Mary A. Schuler University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Evan H. DeLucia
Evan H. DeLucia University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Gene E. Robinson
Gene E. Robinson University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Rensen Zeng
Rensen Zeng Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University
Jorge A. Zavala
Jorge A. Zavala University of Buenos Aires
Paul J. Ode
Paul J. Ode Colorado State University
Evgeny M. Zdobnov
Evgeny M. Zdobnov Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics
Hugh M. Robertson
Hugh M. Robertson University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Hilary Ranson
Hilary Ranson Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

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