Your field needs your data! Raising the standard of quality control and data accessibility in reproductive proteomics

The field needs your data. Despite rapid progress in reproductive proteomics, a major barrier to scientific advancement remains the limited availability and transparency of proteomic datasets. Although more than 2000 sperm proteomics studies are indexed on PubMed, fewer than 414 datasets have been deposited in ProteomeXchange, leaving the majority of published findings effectively inaccessible for reanalysis. This Viewpoint highlights the urgent need for improved data stewardship, standardised quality control and open access to raw mass spectrometry files across reproductive biology. In this article, I outline how transparent false discovery rate control, true biological replication and clearly defined quantitative thresholds are essential for generating robust and interpretable proteomic outputs. I further discuss how interactive data platforms, such as ShinyApps, can substantially improve the accessibility and usability of these complex reproductive proteomic datasets. Using recent examples, I demonstrate how public data reanalysis can uncover species-conserved pathways, improve proteome coverage, validate biological functions and enable new discoveries and insights far beyond the aims of the original studies. Finally, I present a practical roadmap for authors, reviewers and journals to ensure that reproductive proteomics embraces the FAIR data principles, and moves towards a culture where sharing raw data, comprehensive metadata and interactive applications becomes standard practice. To support implementation, a concise checklist is provided to summarise key criteria for data availability, quality control and metadata reporting. Improving data accessibility and quality will not only strengthen individual studies, but will accelerate discovery and create a more robust, connected and future-proof foundation for reproductive biology.