TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - BIOTECHNOLOGY - Preparation (Claimed): The variant CBH polypeptide is produced by culturing a host cell in a suitable culture medium under suitable conditions and isolating the variant. Preferred Variant: The variant comprises an amino acid substitution chosen from Y247D, N49P, T246V, N200G, and their combinations, wherein the position of each amino acid substitution corresponds to sequence of SEQ ID NO:3. The variant comprises an amino acid substitution chosen from T246S, T246P, N200R, F418M, T255D, T255I, T255K, T255P, T255V, D241N, G234D, P194V, T356L, S92T, T41I, and their combinations. The parent CBH polypeptide is a fungal CBH1. The fungal CBH1 is derived from Hypocrea jecorina, H.schweinitzii, H.orientalis, Trichoderma pseudokoningii, T.konilangbra, T.citrinoviride, T.harzanium, Aspergillus aculeatus, A.niger, Penicillium janthinellum, Humicola grisea, Scytalidium thermophilum, and Podospora anderina. The parent CBH polypeptide has at least 90% sequence homology to sequence of SEQ ID NO:3. Preferred Vector: The vector is an expression vector. Preferred Cell: The host cell is a fungal cell or a bacterial cell. The host cell is chosen from a filamentous fungal cell chosen from T.reesei, T.longibrachiatum, T.viride, T.koningii, T.harzianum, Penicillium Humicola, Humicola insolens, H.grisea, Chrysosporium, C.lucknowense, Myceliophthora thermophilia, Gliocladium, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Neurospora, Hypocrea, Emericella, A.niger, A.awamori, A.aculeatus, and A.nidulans, yeast cell chosen from Saccharomyces cervisiae, Schizzosaccharomyces pombe, Schwanniomyces occidentalis, Kluveromyces lactus, Candida utilis, C.albicans, Pichia stipitis, P.pastoris, Yarrowia lipolytica, Hansenula polymorpha, Phaffia rhodozyma, Arxula adeninivorans, Debaryomyces hansenii, and D.polymorphus and Zymomonas mobilis bacterial cell. The host cell expresses the variant of a parent CBH polypeptide encoded by the isolated polynucleotide, vector, or expression vector. Preferred Supernatant: The cell culture supernatant is derived from a culture of a host cell. The supernatant further comprises one or more additional cellulases or hemicellulases. Preferred Method: The method (M3) further involves killing the host cells after culturing, filtering the collected cell culture supernatant to remove cell debris, subjecting the cell culture supernatant to ultrafiltration or other steps to enrich or concentrate the CBH variant, where the host cell further exogenously, endogenously or their combination expresses one or more additional cellulases and/or hemicellulases present in the cell culture supernatant, and contacting the cell culture supernatant with a lignocellulosic biomass substrate. EXAMPLE - No suitable example given.