In 2022, the numbers of original research articles published by Chinese plant scientists in mainstream plant science journals increased significantly compared with that in 2021, and important advances have been made in the fields of preventing “polyspermy fertilization” mechanisms, extracellular pH receptors, chloroplast protein transport channel structures, mechanisms of crop yield, quality, stress tolerance, disease resistance, and symbiotic nitrogen fixation, the origin and evolution mechanisms of self-incompatibility in angiosperms, and the evolution of sugarcane and maize germplasm resources. Among them, “New Mechanisms for Mining and Regulating High Temperature Resistance Genes in Rice” was selected as one of the “Top Ten Advances in Life Sciences in China” in 2022. Here we summarize the achievements of plant science research in China in 2022, by briefly introducing 30 representative important research advances and sorting out the experimental materials used in plant science research, so as to help readers understand the trend of plant science development in China, and evaluate future research direction to meet national needs.

In 2021, the numbers of original research articles published by Chinese plant scientists in international multidisciplinary journals and mainstream plant science journals increased significantly compared with that in 2020, and important advances have been made in the fields of male and female cell recognition and fertilization, stem cell fate determination, mycorrhizal symbiosis, photosynthetic membrane protein complex, nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient utilization, innate immunity, crop de novo domestication and genome design. Among them, ‘rapid de novo domestication of allotetraploid wild rice’ was selected as one of the ‘Top Ten Advances in Life Sciences in China’ in 2021. Here we summarize the achievements of plant science research in China in 2021, and briefly introduce 30 representative important research advances, so as to help readers understand the developmental trend of plant sciences in China, and evaluate how to better connect plant scientific research with major national needs.