The economic feasibility of lignocellulosic biofuels can be improved by evaluating the fermentation potential of different feedstocks. The objective of this thesis is to provide a method to evaluate corn stover biomass for fermentability to ethanol and to characterize maize brown midrib mutants. The objective of the first two research chapters was to develop a sugar-consuming biosensor to monitor hydrolytic reactions and demonstrate its application in monitoring corn stover hydrolysis and to determine the repeatability of this method. This biosensor could be used in screening methods to characterize hydrolysis of feedstocks or to evaluate the performance of hydrolytic systems. The objective of the third research chapter was to perform genetic complementation tests with maize lines in order to determine if unknown brown midrib mutant alleles are actually mutant alleles of brown midrib genes that have not been characterized genetically. These new mutant alleles may help us elucidate the phenylpropanoid pathway.