Proteins were isolated from freeze‑dried Lentinus sajor‑caju samples, separated by SDS‑PAGE and digested in‑gel. Peptides were measured by timsTOF Pro (PASEF mode). MaxQuant was used for quantitative analysis with strict FDR control. DEPs were filtered, and a gene‑protein co‑expression network was built to screen hub factors related to alkaline lignin degradation.