The mechanism underlying the production of fungal lignocellulolytic enzymes from lignocellulosic biomass remains unclear; therefore, it is imperative to investigate the interactions of microorganisms, culture components, and enzyme production. In this research, four native fungi isolated from agave bagasse: Aspergillus fumigatus (BC-1IB and BDJ-1S), Neurospora sitophila (BDJ-1I), and Rhizopus oryzae (BC-3IDA), were used to evaluate their interaction with lignocellulosic biomass as carbon source (agave or sugarcane bagasse) and pH (6.4 and 7.9) during the production of enzymatic extracts by solid-state fermentation with a packed-bed bioreactor. The evaluated enzymatic activities were pectinolytic, cellulolytic, and xylanolytic. The results demonstrate that the interaction between fungal strain, biomass, and pH during solid-state fermentation has a relevant effect on the final catalytic properties of the resulting enzymatic extract. The interaction between BDJ-1I and agave bagasse results in a pectinase extract that preserves above 99% of its activity at 70 °C for 5 h. Notably, the interaction between N. sitophila BDJ-1I with agave bagasse at pH 6.4 results in extracts with higher pectinase (96.8 IU/gdw), cellulase (39.3 IU/gdw), and xylanase (26.6 IU/gdw) activities suitable for hydrolyzing agro-industrial residues like wheat straw (30.2%), sugarcane (17.4%), and agave bagasse (28.4%). These findings highlight reusing agave and sugarcane bagasse residues for biotransformation into lignocellulosic enzyme cocktails with naturally present fungi strains toward the sustainable zero-waste management of agave and sugarcane bagasse biomass.

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