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Plant Science and Agronomy
USA
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Plant Science and Agronomy

D-Index
118
Citations
73969
World Ranking
74
National Ranking
24

Richard D. Vierstra publication distribution in Plant Science and Agronomy in 2026

The chart shows the distribution of publications by all Research.com ranked scientists in the field of Plant Science and Agronomy in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Richard D. Vierstra sits on this spectrum.

36–40 publications: 2 scientists 41–45 publications: 7 scientists 46–50 publications: 40 scientists 51–55 publications: 58 scientists 56–60 publications: 60 scientists 61–65 publications: 107 scientists 66–70 publications: 130 scientists 71–75 publications: 153 scientists 76–80 publications: 191 scientists 81–85 publications: 199 scientists 86–90 publications: 206 scientists 91–95 publications: 218 scientists 96–100 publications: 226 scientists 101–105 publications: 227 scientists 106–110 publications: 247 scientists 111–115 publications: 255 scientists 116–120 publications: 253 scientists 121–125 publications: 233 scientists 126–130 publications: 219 scientists 131–135 publications: 201 scientists 136–140 publications: 194 scientists 141–145 publications: 176 scientists 146–150 publications: 157 scientists 151–155 publications: 147 scientists 156–160 publications: 151 scientists 161–165 publications: 159 scientists 166–170 publications: 137 scientists 171–175 publications: 128 scientists 176–180 publications: 126 scientists 181–185 publications: 98 scientists 186–190 publications: 114 scientists 191–195 publications: 100 scientists 196–200 publications: 90 scientists 201–205 publications: 71 scientists 206–210 publications: 98 scientists 211–215 publications: 70 scientists 216–220 publications: 86 scientists 221–225 publications: 61 scientists 226–230 publications: 58 scientists 231–235 publications: 53 scientists 236–240 publications: 64 scientists 241–245 publications: 39 scientists 246–250 publications: 46 scientists 251–255 publications: 51 scientists 256–260 publications: 36 scientists 261–265 publications: 44 scientists 266–270 publications: 35 scientists 271–275 publications: 30 scientists 276–280 publications: 33 scientists 281–285 publications: 35 scientists 286–290 publications: 36 scientists 291–295 publications: 26 scientists 296–300 publications: 26 scientists 301–305 publications: 31 scientists 306–310 publications: 30 scientists 311–315 publications: 21 scientists 316–320 publications: 29 scientists 321–325 publications: 14 scientists 326–330 publications: 15 scientists 331–335 publications: 15 scientists 336–340 publications: 17 scientists 341–345 publications: 15 scientists 346–350 publications: 12 scientists 351–355 publications: 17 scientists 356–360 publications: 18 scientists 361–365 publications: 12 scientists 366–370 publications: 11 scientists 371–375 publications: 6 scientists 376–380 publications: 6 scientists 381–385 publications: 11 scientists 386–390 publications: 9 scientists 391–395 publications: 10 scientists 396–400 publications: 8 scientists 401–405 publications: 4 scientists 406–410 publications: 9 scientists 411–415 publications: 11 scientists 416–420 publications: 4 scientists 421–425 publications: 7 scientists 426–430 publications: 4 scientists 431–435 publications: 3 scientists 436–440 publications: 5 scientists 441–445 publications: 8 scientists 446–450 publications: 6 scientists 451–455 publications: 7 scientists 456–460 publications: 5 scientists 461–465 publications: 6 scientists 466 publications: 2 scientists 467+ publications: 99 scientists
36 publications 467+

This scientist: 304 publications — 93rd percentile

93% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 467 publications or more.

Richard D. Vierstra D-index placement in Plant Science and Agronomy in 2026

The chart shows the D-index (discipline H-index) distribution of Plant Science and Agronomy scientists ranked by Research.com in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where Richard D. Vierstra sits on this spectrum.

30 D-Index: 200 scientists 31 D-Index: 236 scientists 32 D-Index: 253 scientists 33 D-Index: 283 scientists 34 D-Index: 288 scientists 35 D-Index: 240 scientists 36 D-Index: 246 scientists 37 D-Index: 243 scientists 38 D-Index: 247 scientists 39 D-Index: 229 scientists 40 D-Index: 232 scientists 41 D-Index: 230 scientists 42 D-Index: 228 scientists 43 D-Index: 219 scientists 44 D-Index: 193 scientists 45 D-Index: 164 scientists 46 D-Index: 158 scientists 47 D-Index: 143 scientists 48 D-Index: 131 scientists 49 D-Index: 127 scientists 50 D-Index: 122 scientists 51 D-Index: 122 scientists 52 D-Index: 110 scientists 53 D-Index: 102 scientists 54 D-Index: 98 scientists 55 D-Index: 79 scientists 56 D-Index: 85 scientists 57 D-Index: 88 scientists 58 D-Index: 91 scientists 59 D-Index: 62 scientists 60 D-Index: 61 scientists 61 D-Index: 59 scientists 62 D-Index: 54 scientists 63 D-Index: 61 scientists 64 D-Index: 59 scientists 65 D-Index: 58 scientists 66 D-Index: 41 scientists 67 D-Index: 49 scientists 68 D-Index: 39 scientists 69 D-Index: 32 scientists 70 D-Index: 40 scientists 71 D-Index: 47 scientists 72 D-Index: 38 scientists 73 D-Index: 28 scientists 74 D-Index: 29 scientists 75 D-Index: 28 scientists 76 D-Index: 22 scientists 77 D-Index: 21 scientists 78 D-Index: 25 scientists 79 D-Index: 26 scientists 80 D-Index: 19 scientists 81 D-Index: 16 scientists 82 D-Index: 12 scientists 83 D-Index: 16 scientists 84 D-Index: 14 scientists 85 D-Index: 11 scientists 86 D-Index: 17 scientists 87 D-Index: 13 scientists 88 D-Index: 10 scientists 89 D-Index: 12 scientists 90 D-Index: 18 scientists 91 D-Index: 16 scientists 92 D-Index: 16 scientists 93 D-Index: 17 scientists 94 D-Index: 12 scientists 95 D-Index: 8 scientists 96 D-Index: 9 scientists 97 D-Index: 9 scientists 98 D-Index: 11 scientists 99 D-Index: 12 scientists 100 D-Index: 5 scientists 101 D-Index: 8 scientists 102 D-Index: 4 scientists 103 D-Index: 11 scientists 104 D-Index: 5 scientists 105 D-Index: 9 scientists 106 D-Index: 7 scientists 107 D-Index: 4 scientists 108 D-Index: 8 scientists 109+ D-Index: 99 scientists
30 D-Index 109+

This scientist: 118 D-Index — 99th percentile

99% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 109 D-Index or more.

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Plant Science and Agronomy in United States Leader Award
  • 2018 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences
  • 2002 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Overview

Richard D. Vierstra is affiliated with Washington University in St. Louis in the United States. Their research primarily spans several interconnected fields including Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Agricultural and Biological Sciences, and Medicine. Within these, their work emphasizes Molecular Biology, Plant Science, Epidemiology, Cell Biology, and Ecology.

The scientist's research focuses on a range of topics centering on cellular and molecular mechanisms, notably:

  • Autophagy in Disease and Therapy
  • Ubiquitin and proteasome pathways
  • Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms
  • Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Disease
  • Light effects on plants
  • Plant Molecular Biology Research
  • Cellular transport and secretion

Vierstra has contributed numerous publications to several frequent venues, including:

  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • eLife
  • The Plant Cell
  • Cell Reports
  • Journal of Cell Science

Significant recent papers authored include:

  • "Selective autophagy regulates heat stress memory in Arabidopsis by NBR1-mediated targeting of HSP90.1 and ROF1" (2020, Autophagy)
  • "Reticulon proteins modulate autophagy of the endoplasmic reticulum in maize endosperm" (2020, eLife)
  • "Autophagy Plays Prominent Roles in Amino Acid, Nucleotide, and Carbohydrate Metabolism during Fixed-Carbon Starvation in Maize" (2020, The Plant Cell)
  • "Plant phytochrome B is an asymmetric dimer with unique signalling potential" (2022, Nature)
  • "AUTOPHAGY-RELATED14 and Its Associated Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Complex Promote Autophagy in Arabidopsis" (2020, The Plant Cell)

The scientist has worked collaboratively with several frequent coauthors, including Fionn McLoughlin, Richard S. Marshall, Faqiang Li, Marisa S. Otegui, and Kuo-En Chen.

Vierstra's contributions have been recognized through awards such as their election as a Member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2018 and being named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2002.

Best Publications

  • Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

    Daniel J. Klionsky;Amal Kamal Abdel-Aziz;Sara Abdelfatah;Mahmoud Abdellatif

  • Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy

    Daniel J. Klionsky;Fabio C. Abdalla;Hagai Abeliovich;Robert T. Abraham

  • Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)

    Daniel J. Klionsky;Kotb Abdelmohsen;Akihisa Abe;Joynal Abedin

  • The HPV-16 E6 and E6-AP complex functions as a ubiquitin-protein ligase in the ubiquitination of p53

    Martin Scheffner;Jon M. Huibregtse;Richard D. Vierstra;Peter M. Howley

  • Genome sequencing and analysis of the model grass Brachypodium distachyon

    John P. Vogel;David F. Garvin;Todd C. Mockler;Jeremy Schmutz

  • The ubiquitin 26S proteasome proteolytic pathway

    Jan Smalle;Richard D. Vierstra

  • The ubiquitin–26S proteasome system at the nexus of plant biology

    Richard D. Vierstra

  • Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)

    Daniel J. Klionsky;Kotb Abdelmohsen;Akihisa Abe;Joynal Abedin

  • Phytochrome B integrates light and temperature signals in Arabidopsis

    Martina Legris;Cornelia Klose;E. Sethe Burgie;Cecilia Costigliolo Rojas Rojas

  • The F-box subunit of the SCF E3 complex is encoded by a diverse superfamily of genes in Arabidopsis

    Jennifer M. Gagne;Brian P. Downes;Shin-Han Shiu;Adam M. Durski

  • The ubiquitin/26S proteasome pathway, the complex last chapter in the life of many plant proteins

    Richard D. Vierstra

  • The APG8/12-activating enzyme APG7 is required for proper nutrient recycling and senescence in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    Jed H. Doelling;Joseph M. Walker;Eric M. Friedman;Allison R. Thompson

  • Autophagic Nutrient Recycling in Arabidopsis Directed by the ATG8 and ATG12 Conjugation Pathways

    Allison R. Thompson;Jed H. Doelling;Anongpat Suttangkakul;Richard D. Vierstra

  • A light-sensing knot revealed by the structure of the chromophore-binding domain of phytochrome

    Jeremiah R. Wagner;Joseph S. Brunzelle;Katrina T. Forest;Richard D. Vierstra

  • The Cullin-RING Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases

    Zhihua Hua;Richard D. Vierstra

  • Autophagy: The Master of Bulk and Selective Recycling.

    Richard S. Marshall;Richard D. Vierstra

  • The small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) protein modification system in Arabidopsis. Accumulation of SUMO1 and -2 conjugates is increased by stress.

    Jasmina Kurepa;Joseph M. Walker;Jan Smalle;Mark M. Gosink

  • Proteolysis in plants: mechanisms and functions.

    Richard D. Vierstra

  • Arabidopsis EIN3-binding F-box 1 and 2 form ubiquitin-protein ligases that repress ethylene action and promote growth by directing EIN3 degradation.

    Jennifer M. Gagne;Jan Smalle;Derek J. Gingerich;Joseph M. Walker

  • The multiubiquitin-chain-binding protein Mcb1 is a component of the 26S proteasome in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and plays a nonessential, substrate-specific role in protein turnover.

    S van Nocker;S Sadis;D M Rubin;M Glickman

  • Soluble, highly fluorescent variants of green fluorescent protein (GFP) for use in higher plants.

    Seth J. Davis;Richard D. Vierstra

Frequent Co-Authors

Marisa S. Otegui
Marisa S. Otegui University of Wisconsin–Madison
Seth J. Davis
Seth J. Davis University of York
Lloyd M. Smith
Lloyd M. Smith University of Wisconsin–Madison
Sergio Lavandero
Sergio Lavandero University of Chile
Jorge J. Casal
Jorge J. Casal University of Buenos Aires
Evelina Gatti
Evelina Gatti Aix-Marseille University
Michael H. Glickman
Michael H. Glickman Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
Daniel Finley
Daniel Finley Harvard University
Beth Levine
Beth Levine The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Peter H. Quail
Peter H. Quail University of California, Berkeley

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