Data availabilityThe sequencing data generated in this study, including the RNA sequencing data (24 samples) and resequencing data (60 samples), have been deposited in the National Genomics Data Center (NGDC) under the BioProject accession number PRJCA060390 (https://ngdc.cncb.ac.cn/). The B73 reference genome (B73_RefGen_v5) used for read mapping and gene annotation is available at the MaizeGDB database (https://www.maizegdb.org/). All source data underlying the main and Extended Data figures are provided as Supplementary Information files accompanying this paper. The gel/blot source data are provided in Supplementary Fig. 1. All data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its Supplementary Information files. Source data are provided with this paper.Code availabilityNo custom code or mathematical algorithm was developed or used as a central component of the conclusions in this study. All statistical analyses were performed using standard, publicly available software, including GraphPad Prism v.8.0.2, R v.4.3.0 and Microsoft Excel 2016 as described in the Methods section.ReferencesFlint-Garcia, S. A., Bodnar, A. L. & Scott, M. P. Wide variability in kernel composition, seed characteristics, and zein profiles among diverse maize inbreds, landraces, and teosinte. Theor. Appl. Genet. 119, 1129–1142 (2009).Article