摘要Anther development from stamen primordium to pollen dispersal is complex and essential to sexual reproduction. How this highly dynamic and complex developmental process is controlled genetically is not well understood, especially for genes involved in specific key developmental phases. Here we generated RNA sequencing libraries spanning 10 key stages across the en-tirety of anther development in maize (Zea mays). Global transcriptome analyses revealed distinct phases of cell division and expansion, meiosis, pollen maturation, and mature pollen, for which we detected 50, 245, 42, and 414 phase-specific marker genes, respectively. Phase-specific tran-scription factor genes were significantly enriched in the phase of meiosis. The phase-specific ex-pression of these marker genes was highly con-served among the maize lines Chang7-2 and W23, indicating they might have important roles in anther development. We explored a desiccation-related protein gene, ZmDRP1, which was ex-clusively expressed in the tapetum from the tetrad to the uninucleate microspore stage, by gen-erating knockout mutants. Notably, mutants in ZmDRP1 were completely male-sterile, with ab-normal Ubisch bodies and defective pollen exine. Our work provides a glimpse into the gene ex-pression dynamics and a valuable resource for exploring the roles of key phase-specific genes that regulate anther development.