METHOD OF IMPROVING THE ACTIVITY OF CELLULASE ENZYME MIXTURES IN THE SACCHARIFICATION (LIGNO)CELLULOSIC MATERIAL

The present invention relates to modified filamentous fungal organisms having improved activity profiles with respect to the conversion of complex carbohydrates into simple sugars from cellulosic materials, including fungal organisms belonging to a genus selected from the group consisting of: Chrysosporium, Thielavia, Talaromyces, Thermomyces, Thermoascus, Neurospora, Aureobasidium, Filibasidium, Piromyces, Corynascus, Cryplococcus, Acremonium, Tolypocladium, Scytalidium, Schizophyllum, Sporotrichum, Penicillium, Gibberella, Myceliophthora, Mucor, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Humicola, Trichoderma, and Talaromyces, plus anamorphs and teleomorphs thereof. Filamentous fungal organisms having improved activity profiles are obtained by modifying genes encoding enzymes involved in the production of cellobionolactone, cellobionic acid, gluconolactone, gluconic acid, and related products, by a variety of mutagenic methods, resulting in nucleotide substitutions, insertions, and deletions, increasing the level of saccharification in enzyme mixtures obtained from the modified organisms.