Maize (Zea mays L.) production is severely affected by northern corn leaf blight (NCLB), which is a destructive foliar disease caused by Setosphaeria turcica. In recent years, studies on the interaction between maize and S. turcica have been focused at the transcription level, with no research yet at the protein level. Here, we applied tandem mass tag labelling and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry to investigate the proteomes of maize leaves at 24 h and 72 h post-inoculation (hpi) with S. turcica. In total, 4740 proteins encoded by 4711 genes were quantified in this study. Clustering analyses provided an understanding of the dynamic reprogramming of leaves proteomes by revealing the functions of different proteins during S. turcica infection. Screening and classification of differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) revealed that numerous defense-related proteins, including defense marker proteins and proteins related to the phenylpropanoid lignin biosynthesis, benzoxazine biosynthesis and the jasmonic acid signalling pathway, participated in the defense responses of maize to S. turcica infection. Furthermore, the earlier induction of GST family proteins contributed to the resistance to S. turcica. In addition, the protein–protein interaction network of DEPs suggests that some defense-related proteins, for example, ZmGEB1, a hub node, play key roles in defense responses against S. turcica infection. Our study findings provide insight into the complex responses triggered by S. turcica at the protein level and lay the foundation for studying the interaction process between maize and S. turcica infection.

玉米（北美洲玉米）的生产受到北方玉米叶枯病（NCLB）的严重影响，北方玉米叶枯病是由玉米粉小球菌（Setosphaeria turcica）引起的破坏性叶面疾病。近年来，关于玉米与turcica之间相互作用的研究主要集中在转录水平，而蛋白质水平尚无研究。在这里，我们应用了串联质谱标签标记和液相色谱-串联质谱法研究了在S. turcica接种后24 h和72 h玉米叶片的蛋白质组。在这项研究中，总共量化了4711个基因编码的4740种蛋白质。通过揭示Turcica turcica感染期间不同蛋白质的功能，聚类分析提供了对叶片蛋白质组动态重编程的理解。差异表达蛋白（DEP）的筛选和分类显示，许多防御相关蛋白，包括防御标记蛋白和与苯丙烷类木质素生物合成，苯并恶嗪生物合成和茉莉酸信号通路有关的蛋白，都参与了玉米对S的防御反应。 turcica感染。此外，GST家族蛋白的较早诱导有助于对S. turcica的抗性。此外，DEP的蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用网络表明，一些与防御相关的蛋白质，例如枢纽节点ZmGEB1，在抵抗S. turcica感染的防御反应中起着关键作用。我们的研究结果提供了深入了解链球菌在蛋白质水平上触发的复杂反应的依据，并为研究玉米与链球菌感染之间的相互作用过程奠定了基础。