Developmental dynamics of endogenous peptides in maize

In this study, we present a comprehensive peptidomic atlas of 13 tissues in maize spanning the vegetative and reproductive phases. Using 3-frame translation of canonical coding sequences (CDSs), we identified 6,100 non-redundant endogenous peptides, significantly expanding the known repertoire of peptides in plants. By integrating the peptidomic coexpression profiles with previously reported proteomic profiles, we found that the peptide abundance did not consistently correlate with the abundance of their source proteins, suggesting complex regulatory mechanisms. This integrated peptidomic and proteomic map not only provides a valuable resource for exploring the functional roles of endogenous peptides in maize development, but will also enable researchers to explore the functional relationship among genes, peptides, and proteins in various biological contexts.