Short-fibre formation during cellulose degradation by cellulolytic fungi

Summary All cell-free filtrates of 26 fungal strains containning cellulase activities degraded native cellulose to both reducing sugar and insoluble short fibres. Low-molecular components from the crude filtrates could also degrade native cellulose into short fibres, not accompanied with the production of reducing sugar. Short fibre formation played an important role in cellulose degradation to make the substrate more accessible to attack of cellulases.