Fig. 1

Total solids solubilization of CBI reference poplar biomass by C. thermocellum DSM1313 over 5 days at 60 °C. Poplar biomass was loaded at 5.68 g per 500-mL reaction volume at the start of fermentation to achieve a 5.0 g/L glucan loading at 0.5-L bioreactor scale. Uninoculated controls were included to account for any non-biological solubilization. The percentage of total biomass solubilization was calculated from the data presented in Additional file 2: Fig. S2. Data are average of two technical replicates from each of two biological replicates (i.e., two separate fermentations) ± standard deviation, n = 4. Statistical analysis was by one-way ANOVA followed by Fisher’s least significant difference method; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01