The production of cellulases and hemicellulases by Penicillium pinophilum IBT 4186, P. persicinum IBT 13226 and P brasilianum IBT 20888 was studied during well-controlled batch cultivations using various polysaccharides as carbon source. Generally, the use of cellulose as carbon source resulted in production of cellulases whereas xylan resulted in production of xylanases, but the enzyme production by P. pinophilum IBT 4186 was less strictly regulated by the carbon source compared to the two other species. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) was used to quantify the main five cellulases produced by R brasilianum IBT 20888 during cultivations on cellulose. It was found that the concentration of cellulases possessing a cell ulose-binding module (CBM) was unaltered by an increased cellulose concentration in the cultivations, whereas the concentration of some cellulases without the cellulose-binding module was increased. The lack of correlation between initial cellulose concentration and final filter paper activity in the medium could therefore be assigned to adsorption of a fraction of the cellulases produced by P brasilianum IBT 20888 onto remaining cellulose. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.