The mutual interactions among the consortium constructed by four indigenous bacteria and five inter-kingdom fusants and the effects of nitrogen and carbon supplementations on lignin degradation and laccase activity were investigated. Analyzed by Plackett-Burman and central composite design, the microbial consortium were optimized, Bacillus sp. (B) and PE-9 and Pseudomonas putida (Pp) and PE-9 had significant interactions on lignin degradation based on a 5% level of significance. The nitrogen and carbon supplementations played an important role in lignin degradation and laccase production. The ultimate lignin degradation efficiency of 96.0% and laccase activity of 268 U/L were obtained with 0.5 g/L of ammonium chloride and 2 g/L of sucrose. Results suggested that a stable and effective microbial consortium in alkalescent conditions was successfully achieved through the introduction of fusants, which was significant for its industrial application. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.