Table 1.

Cellulase activity optima of the investigated candidate organisms and targeted consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) conditions

Fungal strain	Collection	Cellulase activity optimum		Comment	Source
		pH	Temperature (°C)
Trichoderma reesei Rut-C30	ATCC 56765	4.5–5.0	50	Benchmark organism	[24, 25]
Aspergillus terreus	DSM 23081	5.5	55	Itaconic acid producer	[19]
Penicillium verruculosum M28-10	DSM 8069	2.5–4.0	45–50	Low pH active, low lignin binding	Punt, personal communication [20]
Myceliophtora thermophila	DSM 1799	4.8–5.5	60	Thermophilic	[21]
Thielavia terrestris	CBS 351.90	4.8	60	Thermophilic	[21]
Target CBP conditionsa		3.7	30–37

^aTarget process conditions for the mixed culture approach to produce itaconic acid from cellulose using A. terreus as itaconic acid producer. Process conditions were determined by growth and itaconic acid production characteristics of A. terreus