초록
<P><B>Background</B></P><P>Glycerol is a major byproduct of the biodiesel industry and can be converted to 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) by microorganisms through a two-step enzymatic reaction. The production of 1,3-PDO from glycerol using microorganisms is accompanied by formation of unwanted byproducts, including lactate and 2,3-butanediol, resulting in a low-conversion yield.</P><P><B>Results</B></P><P><I>Klebsiella pneumoniae</I> was metabolically engineered to produce high-molar yield of 1,3-PDO from glycerol. First, the pathway genes for byproduct formation were deleted in <I>K</I>. <I>pneumoniae</I>. Then, glycerol assimilation pathways were eliminated and mannitol was co-fed to the medium. Finally, transcriptional regulation of the <I>dha</I> operon were genetically modified for enhancing 1,3-propanediol production. The batch fermentation of the engineered strain with co-feeding of a small amount of mannitol yielded 0.76 mol 1,3-PDO from 1 mol glycerol.</P><P><B>Conclusions</B></P><P><I>Klebsiella pneumoniae</I> is useful microorganism for producing 1,3-PDO from glycerol. Implemented engineering in this study successfully improved 1,3-PDO production yield, which is significantly higher than those reported in previous studies.</P><P><B>Electronic supplementary material</B></P><P>The online version of this article (10.1186/s13068-018-1100-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.</P>