11-31: Screening of Klebsiella pneumoniae for high-production of 1,3-propanediol by high-throughput screening (HTS) system

1, 3-propanediol (1,3-PD) is of commercial attention as an important monomer to synthesize a new type of polyester, polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) which has excellent properties in textile and fiber industries. Klebsiella pneumoniae is able to metabolize glycerol as sole carbon source to produce high yield of 1,3-PD. In addition, glycerol, a low cost substrate is of particular interest due to the abundant of glycerol as a major by-product in the biodiesel and soap manufacturing. Therefore, considering the environmental and economical benefits, production of 1,3-PD through glycerol metabolic processes appears to be an attractive alternative to chemical synthesis. For high-production of 1,3-PD from glycerol, robot controlled high-throughput screening (HTS) system will be a efficient strategy comparing traditional screening measurement because the system allows a researcher to conduct more than 10,000 clone per day. In the study, Klebsiella pneumoniae mutants were obtained by UV mutagenesis and clone which have high productivity of 1,3-PD were screened by robot controlled HTS system.