REVIEW BY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Achievements and Advances of Plant Sciences Research in China in 2025

  • Hongya Gu ,
  • Fan Chen ,
  • Jianru Zuo ,
  • Langtao Xiao ,
  • Zhaojun Ding ,
  • Liwen Jiang ,
  • Rongcheng Lin ,
  • Zhiduan Chen ,
  • Xiaoquan Qi ,
  • Shuhua Yang ,
  • Yongfei Bai ,
  • Kang Chong ,
  • Lei Wang
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  • 1School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; 2Yazhouwan National Laboratory, Sanya 572024, China; 3Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; 4College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China; 5Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China; 6The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatian, China; 7Xianghu Lab, Hangzhou 311231, China; 8Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China; 9College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, China

Online published: 2026-04-06

Abstract

In 2025, Chinese plant scientists achieved an explosive growth (a twofold increase) in the number of papers published in the three international comprehensive academic journals (Nature, Science, and Cell) compared to 2024. The number of papers published in mainstream plant science journals also continued to steadily increase relative to 2024. Significant research progress was made in fields such as plant hormones and secondary metabolism, plant biochemical analysis and bioinformatics, photosynthesis and light signaling, stress tolerance mechanisms, and plant systematics and evolution. Among them, “Epigenetic variation drives plant stress adaptation” and “AI-driven protein engineering enables breakthrough in precise chromosome manipulation” were selected as two of the “Top Ten Advances in Life Sciences in China” in 2025. Here we summarize the achievements of plant science research in China in 2025, and briefly introduces 160 representative important research advances, aiming to help readers understand the overall development trend of plant science in China and its position in international plant science, and to evaluate future research direction to meet major national strategic needs.

Cite this article

Hongya Gu , Fan Chen , Jianru Zuo , Langtao Xiao , Zhaojun Ding , Liwen Jiang , Rongcheng Lin , Zhiduan Chen , Xiaoquan Qi , Shuhua Yang , Yongfei Bai , Kang Chong , Lei Wang . Achievements and Advances of Plant Sciences Research in China in 2025[J]. Chinese Bulletin of Botany, 2026 , 61(2) : 187 -212 . DOI: 10.3724/CBB-2026-0074

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