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 μg 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.