<b>Unraveling developmental gene regulation in holometabolous insects through comparative transcriptomics and proteomics</b>

Holometabolous insects undergo complex phenotypic changes during development in four major stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Such changes are typically driven by strong transcriptome and proteome dynamics, making this process an excellent system for comparing these two levels of regulation. Here, we provide a comprehensive paired transcriptome and proteome dataset of 17 timepoints across the developmental life cycle of the silkworm <i>Bombyx mori. </i>The analysis of this data revealed similarities and differences between transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene expression, enabling the identification of stage-specific characteristics. Specifically, the oxidative phosphorylation pathway was enriched in genes expressed especially in adults. We<i> </i>examined protein-transcript correlations and characterized stage-specific dynamics. The majority of genes for which transcript and protein dynamics differ are linked to translation and RNA regulation. Our data constitute a rich resource enabling comparative analysis of developmental regulatory dynamics<i>.</i> Comparison of silkworm developmental gene expression with publicly available data for<i> D. melanogaster</i> revealed similar gene regulatory patterns at the transcriptome and proteome levels, underscoring the importance of the evolutionary conservation of tightly coordinated developmental processes.