Lignocellulose, the most abundant renewable biomass on Earth, presents a promising future for a large-scale biorefinery. Cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin together make up the majority of lignocellulose, with each providing different biopolymers suitable for added-value chemicals. [1] However, to effectively utilise lignocellulose, efficient fractionation to achieve high purity and yield is necessary. [2] This work investigates how the linkages between the carbohydrates and lignin play a role in separation of lignocellulose and which fungal proteins are a part of it. In this work, we have extracted different lignin-carbohydrate complexes (LCC) from spruce (Picea sp.) and beech (Fagus sp.) to investigate how the white-rot fungi Bjerkandera adusta degrades them. 
The LCCs constitutes primarily of carbohydrates (galactoglucomannan, cellulose and xylan) with minor p-hydroxyphenyl-like aromatics, shown by 1H and 1H–13C HSQC nuclear magnetic resonance. The LCCs from beech and spruce show small differences. After incubation with the LCCs, the proteome of B. adusta contains a variety of proteins. This work gives new insights into separation of lignocellulose, especially on lignin and lignin-carbohydrate interactions. This is one step closer to a future biorefinery of lignocellulose.