Fungal pretreatment of switchgrass for improved saccharification and simultaneous enzyme production

► An efficient method for pretreatment of switchgrass is developed. ► The fungus Pycnoporus sp. SYBC-L3 selectively degraded lignin over cellulose. ► Great enhancement of hydrolysis was achieved for cellulose and hemicellulose. ► An extract containing high enzyme activities was obtained as a co-product. ► Pretreatment of biomass with simultaneous enzyme production was achieved.