Comparative Proteomic Analysis of the Defense Response to Stalk Rot in Maize and Reveals That ZmWRKY83 Is Involved in Plant Disease Resistance.

is the causal agent of stalk rot in maize stem, resulting in maize lodging, yield, quality, and mechanical harvesting capacity. To date, little is known about the maize stem defense mechanism in response to the invasion of . This study represents a global proteomic approach to document the infection by . A total of 1,894 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified in maize stem with inoculation. Functional categorization analysis indicated that proteins involved in plant-pathogen interaction were inducible at the early stages of infection. We also found that the expression of proteins involved in phenylpropanoid, flavonoid, and terpenoid biosynthesis were upregulated in response to infection, which may reflect that these secondary metabolism pathways were important in the protection against the fungal attack in maize stem. In continuously upregulated proteins after infection, we identified a WRKY transcription factor, ZmWRKY83, which could improve the resistance to plant pathogens. Together, the results show that the defense response of corn stalks against infection was multifaceted, involving the induction of proteins from various immune-related pathways, which had a directive significance for molecular genetic breeding of maize disease-resistant varieties.