A PCR-based method to quantify fungal growth during pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass

Filamentous fungi have shown great potential in the pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass and their use in bio-processes based on Solid State Fermentation (SSF) opens promising perspectives for plant biomass valorization. Obviously, quantification of the fungal biomass throughout the fermentation is a crucial parameter for SSF evaluation and control, both at the laboratory and industrial scale. Here we provide a qPCR-based method as a reliable alternative to conventional methods to estimate mycelial growth during plant biomass treatment. For the three strains analyzed, the lowest detection limit ranged from 58 to 272 mu g mycelium dry weight per gram biomass (dry weight). We show that the qPCR-based method allows fungal growth monitoring during fermentation and provides relevant information for selection of the most appropriate fungal strains in specific SSF/reactor conditions. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.