The non-renewable fossil resources currently exploited by the oil and gas industries are the objects of growing concern owing to their finite supply and contribution to global warming. Lignocellulosic biomass is a sustainable alternative to fossil resources, and has the added advantage of not competing with human and animal nutrition. Indeed, lignocellulosic biomass, in particular its main polymer component cellulose, is a potential carbon source for the production of fuels and commodity chemicals in microbes.