Recently, novel Klebsiella pneumoniae J2B, which grows rapidly on glycerol as the carbon source without
forming pathogenic and sticky lipopolysaccharides, was isolated. Current study examined the ability of K.
pneumoniae J2B to produce 1,3-propanediol (PDO) from glycerol. To this end, a deletion mutant for lactate
formation was constructed. The ldhA mutant strain produced negligible lactate but more 2,3-butanediol
(BDO). When K. pneumoniae DldhA was cultivated in glycerol fed-batch mode, the PDO titer of 58.0 g/L
with a yield of 0.35 g/g and an overall volumetric productivity of 1.3 g/L/h were obtained. BDO was
the main byproduct (26.6 g/L). Less than 10 g/L of the other metabolites was produced. As PDO and other
metabolites accumulated, the rate of PDO production decreased significantly due mainly to the toxic
effects of these metabolites. This study highlights the potential of newly isolated K. pneumoniae J2B for
the production of PDO from glycerol.