Tempering of cellulosic biomass

A method for cost-effective processing of lignocellulosic biomass comprising steps of:

• tempering a sample of plant biomass under conditions to promote activation of lignocellulolytic enzyme polypeptides present in the sample of plant biomass;
• pretreating the sample under conditions to promote accessibility of celluloses within the lignocellulosic biomass;
• and
• treating the pretreated sample under conditions that promote hydrolysis of cellulose to fermentable sugars,
• wherein the sample of plant biomass is obtained from at least one transgenic plant, the genome of which is augmented with:
• a recombinant polynucleotide encoding at least one lignocellulolytic enzyme polypeptide operably linked to a promoter sequence, wherein the polynucleotide is optimized for expression in the plant.