NOVELTY - An isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleic acid sequence, is new.    USE - The nucleic acid molecule and methods are useful for preparing plant biomass for saccharification, recombinant production of a polypeptide, disrupting lignin in woody plant materials, and modifying surface properties of cotton materials (all claimed).    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - An isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleic acid sequence selected from: (a) a nucleic acid molecule consisting of the nucleic acid sequence given in the specification; (b) a nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleic acid sequence that hybridizes to the sequence identified in (a) above under stringent hybridization and encodes a hemocyanin polypeptide with phenol oxidase activity which have 60-70% amino acid sequence identity with the amino acid sequences given in the specification; and (c) a nucleic acid molecule comprising nucleic acid sequences that are degenerate as a result of the genetic code to the nucleic acid sequence defined in (a) and (b), is new. INDEPENDENT CLAIMS are:    (1) a vector comprising a nucleic acid molecule;    (2) an isolated cell comprising a nucleic acid molecule or a vector;    (3) a plant comprising a plant cell;    (4) a seed comprising a cell;    (5) a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid molecule selected from: (a) a nucleic acid molecule consisting of the DNA sequence given in the specification; (b) a nucleic acid molecule comprising DNA sequences that hybridize to the sequence identified in (a) above under stringent hybridization and encodes a hemocyanin polypeptide with phenol oxidase activity which have 60-70% amino acid sequence identity with the amino acid sequences given in the specification; (c) a nucleic acid molecule comprising DNA sequences that are degenerate as a result of the genetic code to the DNA sequence defined in (a) and (b), for use in the modification of lignocellulosic material;    (6) a method to prepare plant biomass for saccharification comprising: (a) providing a transgenic plant; (b) inducing expression of at least one nucleic acid molecule; and/or harvesting the plant biomass; and optionally (c) contacting the plant biomass with a protease that digests the hemocyanin polypeptide to provide a phenol oxidase polypeptide;    (7) a method for the recombinant production of a polypeptide comprising: (a) providing a prokaryotic cell; (b) culturing the cell under cell culture conditions conducive to the production of the polypeptide; and optionally (c) isolating the polypeptide from the cell or cell culture;    (8) a method for disrupting lignin in woody plant materials comprising: (a) forming a preparation comprising at least one polypeptide and woody material; and (b) incubating the preparation under conditions that disrupt lignin in the woody material to facilitate pulping; and    (9) a method to modify surface properties of cotton materials comprising: (a) forming a preparation comprising a polypeptide and a cotton based material; and (b) incubating the preparation under conditions that modify the surface properties of the cotton based material.