Multi-proteomic profiling indicates potential regulatory signatures underlying rice resistance to Magnaporthe oryzae

Omics-driven approaches can capture systemic plant responses to pathogens. While transcriptomics is a mainstay, it alone cannot capture post-translational modifications or protein abundance. Because of this, we employed multi-proteomics to compare the proteome, phosphoproteome, and acetylome of two rice genotypes differing in resistance to Magnaporthe oryzae during early infection (12, 24, and 48 h post-inoculation). Biochemically, the susceptible genotype displayed higher membrane lipid peroxidation. Global proteome analysis highlighted putative targets, including pathogenesis-related 5 proteins in the resistant genotype and ASR6 (abscisic stress ripening protein family) in the susceptible genotype. Post-translational modification landscapes diverged: the resistant genotype showed more extensive phosphorylation regulations, whereas the susceptible genotype showed more acetylation changes. Principal component analysis indicated earlier separation between mock and infected plants in the resistant genotype, consistent with faster proteome responses. Functional enrichment supported these trends: the resistant genotype was enriched for fungal defense and biotic stimulus detection, while the susceptible genotype was enriched for oxidative stress pathways. Kinase-substrate predictions linked CAMK, CK2, and SnRK2 to the largest substrate sets across genotypes and time points. Differential regulations of predicted substrates, such as Phosphatase and Tensin protein (PTEN), Synaptosome-associated protein (SNAP), Phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC), and ABCG transporters, may contribute to genotype-specific outcomes. Together, these results proposed a genotype resistance-phosphorylation versus susceptibility-acetylation-associated regulatory framework, identified through discovery-driven research, offering candidate proteins and mechanistic markers to guide functional validation and breeding strategies for improved rice blast resilience.