Pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse by Pandoraea sp. ISTKB was evaluated under submerged (SmF) and solid state (SSF) culture conditions. Number of bacteria was 2.7 times higher in SmF as compared with SSF. Enzymes produced under SmF were xylanase, LiP, MnP and laccase. In SSF xylanase and laccase were detected. CMCase, FPase and beta-glucosidase were not detected. Delignification was highest in SmF with 19.94% and 10.43% removal of hemicelluloses and lignin, respectively. FTIR analysis suggested the degradation of lignin/hemicellulose component. SEM analysis showed pores were three times bigger in SmF as compared with raw bagasse. Maximum CR dye was absorbed by treated SmF bagasse. Enzymatic saccharification increased by 3.7 times after SmF treatment in comparison to raw bagasse. Pretreatment of bagasse by Pandoraea sp. ISTKB was more efficient under SmF than SSF. High negative correlation between saccharification vs lignin/hemicelluloses content justified the need for pretreatment of lignocellulosic waste before saccharification. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.