Saccharification of poplar biomass by using lignocellulases from Pholiota adiposa

A basidiomycetous fungus, identified as Pholiota adiposa SKU0714 on the basis of morphological and phylogenetic analyses, was found to secrete efficient lignocellulose degrading enzymes. The strain showed maximum endoglucanase, cellobiohydrolase and β-glucosidase activities of 26, 32 and 39 U/mL, respectively and also secreted xylanase, laccase, mannanase, and lignin peroxidase with activities of 1680, 0.12, 65 and 0.41 U/mL, respectively when grown with rice straw as a carbon source. Among the various plant biomasses tested for saccharification, poplar biomass produced the maximum amount of reducing sugar. Response surface methodology was used to optimize hydrolysis parameters. A maximum saccharification yield of 83.4% (667 mg/g-substrate), the highest yield from any plant biomass, was obtained with Populus biomass after 24 h of hydrolysis. P. adiposa was proven to be a good choice for the production of reducing sugars from cellulosic biomass.