Microbial fermentation in insect guts is an important component of global carbon cycling and those insects consuming lignocellulose rich diets have developed numerous mechanisms for surviving on a nutrient poor resource.  One such lignocellulose degrading insect is Tipula abdominalis, the aquatic cranefly.  Larval T.abdominalis deconstruct lignocellulose with the aid of a hindgut microbial consortium.  Cellulose degradation can be enhanced by co-culturing cellulolytic anaerobes and non-cellulolytic aerobes; in nature, cellulose degradation occurs through the cooperation of many microorganisms suggesting a synergistic relationship.  Both cellulolytic anaerobes and non-cellulolytic aerobes have been isolated from the T. abdominalis larval hindgut.  To examine synergistic cellulose degradation by the hindgut microbial community, using filter paper as the sole carbon source, enrichment cultures were established in glass-stoppered bottles, which allowed aeration and cooperative cellulose degradation by aerobes and anaerobes.  Cultures became anaerobic, with visible degradation of filter paper.  Successive generations of the enrichment culture communities were cultivated, and isolations were performed both aerobically and anaerobically on nutrient-limited media containing cellulose or cellobiose.  Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of the complex microbiota provided no discernable patterns of community structure amongst the enrichment cultures, suggesting that a species-specific consortium was not necessary for cellulose degradation.  Therefore, functionality was maintained independently of species content.  For further exploration, functional gene libraries and large insert clone libraries are being screened. Understanding mechanisms used in this conversion of a poor nutrient source into energy for the stream ecosystem has relevance to efficient depolymerization of recalcitrant plant cell walls for bioenergy.