Microbial fuel cell based on Klebsiella pneumoniae biofilm

In this paper we reported a novel microbial fuel cell (MFC) based on Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) strain L17 biofilm, which can utilize directly starch and glucose to generate electricity. The electrochemical activity of K. pneumoniae and the performance of the MFC were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and polarization curve measurement. The results indicated that an established K. pneumoniae biofilm cells were responsible for the direct electron transfer from fuels to electrode during electricity production. The SEM observation proved the ability of K. pneumoniae to colonize on the electrode surface. This MFC generated power from the direct electrocatalysis by the K. pneumoniae strain L17 biofilm.     

Vaccination with Klebsiella pneumoniae-derived extracellular vesicles protects against bacteria-induced lethality via both humoral and cellular immunity

The emergence of multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae highlights the need to develop preventive measures to ameliorate Klebsiella infections. Bacteria-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) are spherical nanometer-sized proteolipids enriched with outer membrane proteins. Gram-negative bacteria-derived EVs have gained interest for use as nonliving complex vaccines. In the present study, we evaluated whether K. pneumoniae-derived EVs confer protection against bacteria-induced lethality. K. pneumoniae-derived EVs isolated from in vitro bacterial culture supernatants induced innate immunity, including the upregulation of co-stimulatory molecule expression and proinflammatory mediator production. EV vaccination via the intraperitoneal route elicited EV-reactive antibodies and interferon-gamma-producing T-cell responses. Three vaccinations with the EVs prevented bacteria-induced lethality. As verified by sera and splenocytes adoptive transfer, the protective effect of EV vaccination was dependent on both humoral and cellular immunity. Taken together, these findings suggest that K. pneumoniae-derived EVs are a novel vaccine candidate against K. pneumoniae infections.     

Tilivalline,a new pyrrolo[2, 1-c][1,4] benzodiazepine metabolite from klebsiella

From Klebsiella pneumoniae (+)(11S, 11aS) - 1,2,3,10,11,11a - hexahydro - 9 - hydroxy - 11 - (3′ - indolyl) - 5H - pyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzodiazepin - 5 - one (1) has been isolated for which the name tilivalline is suggested. Structure elucidation and synthesis are reported.     

Microcalorimetric study of the growth of Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae and their mixtures in an enriched culture medium

In the last few years there has been a growing interest in microcalorimetric investigations of microbial processes. Microcalorimetry is a technique based on heat output of bacterial metabolism which can be applied to detect bacterial growth in a few hours. However, there are few studies that attempt to investigate the interactions between two or more bacteria. In this study, we researched the interaction relationship of Enterococcus faecalis and Klebsiella pneumoniae, which are important pathogens responsible for infections in humans. The measures were carried out using a Calvet microcalorimeter, that contains two stainless steel cells of approximately 10 cm³ (reference and experimental). Experiments were carried out at concentration of 10³ CFU mL^?1 and a constant temperature of 309.65 K. The differences in shape of the heat flow-time curves of E. faecalis and K. pneumoniae and their mixtures were compared. Curves of E. faecalis and K. pneumoniae and their mixtures were analyzed mathematically allowing to calculate thermokinetic parameters such as growth constant (k), generation time (G), detection time (t _d) and the amount of heat released (Q). The results revealed that when E. faecalis and K. pneumoniae were put together in the same proportion, the growth character of E. faecalis was not present, due to the inhibitory effects of K. pneumoniae on E. faecalis. Microcalorimetric investigations of microbial interactions is possible and promising.     

Identification of novel vaccine candidates against carbapenem resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae: A systematic reverse proteomic approach

Klebsiella pneumoniae is declared as antibiotic resistant by WHO, with the critical urgency of developing novel antimicrobial therapeutics as drug resistance is the second most dangerous threat after terrorism. Besides many attempts still, there is no effective vaccine available against K. pneumoniae. By utilizing all the available proteomic data we prioritized the novel proteins ideal for vaccine development using bioinformatics tools and techniques. Among the huge data, eight proteins passed all the barriers and were considered ideal candidates for vaccine development. These include: copper silver efflux system outer membrane protein (CusC), outer membrane porin protein (OmpN), Fe⁺⁺ enterobactin transporter substrate binding protein (fepB), zinc transporter substrate binding protein (ZnuA), ribonuclease HI, tellurite resistant methyltransferase (the B), and two uncharacterized hypothetical proteins (WP_002918223 and WP_002892366). These proteins were also subjected to epitope analysis and were found best for developing subunit vaccine against K. pneumoniae. The study shows that the potential vaccine targets are sufficiently efficient being virulent, of outer membranous origin and can be proposed for the DNA third-generation vaccines development that would help to cope up infections caused by multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae.     

In Vitro Investigation of the Impact of Bacterial–Fungal Interaction on Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae

Fungal–bacterial co-culturing is a potential technique for the production of secondary metabolites with antibacterial activity. Twenty-nine fungal species were screened in a co-culture with carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae at different temperatures. A temperature of 37 ° showed inhibition of bacterial growth. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing for K. pneumoniae was conducted to compare antibiotic resistance patterns before and after the co-culture. Genotypic comparison of the K. pneumonia was performed using next generation sequencing (NGS). It was shown that two out of five K. pneumoniae, with sequence type ST 101 isolates, lost bla-_OXA48, bla-_CTX-M-14, tir, strA and strB genes after the co-culture with Scopulariopsis brevicaulis fungus. The other three isolates (ST 383 and 147) were inhibited in the co-culture but did not show any changes in resistance. The total ethyl acetate extract of the fungal–bacterial co-culture was tested against K. pneumoniae using a disc diffusion method. The concentration of the crude extract was 0.97 mg/µL which resulted in total inhibition of the bacteria. Using chromatographic techniques, the purified compounds were identified as 11-octadecenoic acid, 2,4-Di-tert-butylphenol, 2,3-Butanediol and 9-octadecenamide. These were tested against K. pneumoniae using the well diffusion method at a concentration of 85 µg/µL which resulted in total inhibition of bacteria. The co-culture results indicated that bacteria under chemical stress showed variable responses and induced fungal secondary metabolites with antibacterial activities.     

Establishing a Klebsiella pneumoniae-Based Cell-Free Protein Synthesis System

Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) systems are emerging as powerful platforms for in vitro protein production, which leads to the development of new CFPS systems for different applications. To expand the current CFPS toolkit, here we develop a novel CFPS system derived from a chassis microorganism Klebsiella pneumoniae, an important industrial host for heterologous protein expression and the production of many useful chemicals. First, we engineered the K. pneumoniae strain by deleting a capsule formation-associated wzy gene. This capsule-deficient strain enabled easy collection of the cell biomass for preparing cell extracts. Then, we optimized the procedure of cell extract preparation and the reaction conditions for CFPS. Finally, the optimized CFPS system was able to synthesize a reporter protein (superfolder green fluorescent protein, sfGFP) with a maximum yield of 253 ± 15.79 μg/mL. Looking forward, our K. pneumoniae-based CFPS system will not only expand the toolkit for protein synthesis, but also provide a new platform for constructing in vitro metabolic pathways for the synthesis of high-value chemicals.     

Green synthesis of AgNPs from aqueous extract of Oxalis corniculata and its antibiofilm and antimicrobial activity

The silver nanoparticles OC-AgNPs, synthesized from the aqueous extract of Oxalis corniculata (OC), showed antiviral activity against Herpes Simplex Virus-1 (HSV-1), and anti-biofilm, and antibacterial activities against human isolates of six multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria - Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The OC-AgNP was characterized by UV-Vis and FTIR spectroscopy; while its morphology and distribution were determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results revealed that the biogenic OC-AgNPs are spherical with an average diameter of 40 nm and has shown UV-Vis peak at 445 nm. The cytotoxicity and safety of OC-AgNP has been evaluated by MTT assay in Vero cells and triple-negative human breast cancer MDA-MB-468 cells. The plaque reduction assay has been used to test the antiviral activity against HSV-1F. The anti-biofilm activity was assessed by crystal violet staining, followed by light and confocal microscopy; while the antibacterial activity was determined by conventional disk-diffusion and broth-dilution methods. Moreover, the mechanism of anti-biofilm and antibacterial activity was examined by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). The CC₅₀ (cytotoxicity) on Vero cells was 300 μg/ml; while the survival percentage of MDA-MB-468 cells was 27.12% at 20 μM and 80.97% at 100 μM of, respectively. The OC-AgNP showed moderate antiviral activity against HSV-1F at EC₅₀ of 25 μg/ml; but significantly inhibited the biofilm produced by Pseudomonus aeruginosa and Escherichia coli at 25-50 μg/ml; while at 30-50 μM we observed the dose-dependent lowering of fluorescence intensity under light and confocal microscope. Interestingly, the OC-AgNPs demonstrated significant antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (20 mm), Klebsiella pneumoniae (15 mm), Escherichia coli (12 mm), Salmonella typhi (10 mm), Streptococcus pyogenes (11 mm) and Staphylococcus aureus (10 mm) with Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of 0.65–0.90 μM (0.11- 0.153 μg), respectively. Further, the FESEM micrograph showed disruption of membrane structure with the damage of cell membrane integrity of Pseudomonus aeruginosa at its MIC.     

Antibacterial Potential of Bacopa monnieri (L.) Wettst. and Its Bioactive Molecules against Uropathogens—An In Silico Study to Identify Potential Lead Molecule(s) for the Development of New Drugs to Treat Urinary Tract Infections

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are becoming more common, requiring extensive protection from antimicrobials. The global expansion of multi-drug resistance uropathogens in the past decade emphasizes the necessity of newer antibiotic treatments and prevention strategies for UTIs. Medicinal plants have wide therapeutic applications in both the prevention and management of many ailments. Bacopa monnieri is a medicinal plant that is found in the warmer and wetlands regions of the world. It has been used in Ayurvedic systems for centuries. The present study aimed to investigate the antibacterial potential of the extract of B. monnieri leaves and its bioactive molecules against UTIs that are caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus mirabilis. This in vitro experimental study was conducted by an agar well diffusion method to evaluate the antimicrobial effect of 80% methanol, 96% ethanol, and aqueous extracts of B. monnieri leaves on uropathogens. Then, further screening of their phytochemicals was carried out using standard methods. To validate the bioactive molecules and the microbe interactions, AutoDock Vina software was used for molecular docking with the Klebsiella pneumoniae fosfomycin resistance protein (5WEW) and the Zn-dependent receptor-binding domain of Proteus mirabilis MR/P fimbrial adhesin MrpH (6Y4F). Toxicity prediction and drug likeness were predicted using ProTox-II and Molinspiration, respectively. A molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was carried out to study the protein ligand complexes. The methanolic leaves extract of B. monnieri revealed a 22.3 mm ± 0.6 mm to 25.0 mm ± 0.5 mm inhibition zone, while ethanolic extract seemed to produce 19.3 mm ± 0.8 mm to 23.0 mm ± 0.4 mm inhibition zones against K. pneumoniae with the use of increasing concentrations. In the case of P. mirabilis activity, the methanolic extracts showed a 21.0 mm ± 0.8 mm to 24.0 mm ± 0.6 mm zone of inhibition and the ethanol extract produced a 17.0 mm ± 0.9 mm to 23.0 mm ± 0.7 mm inhibition zone with increasing concentrations. Carbohydrates, flavonoids, saponin, phenolic, and terpenoid were common phytoconstituents identified in B. monnieri extracts. Oroxindin showed the best interactions with the binding energies with 5WEW and 6Y4F, −7.5 kcal/mol and −7.4 kcal/mol, respectively. Oroxindin, a bioactive molecule, followed Lipinski’s rule of five and exhibited stability in the MD simulation. The overall results suggest that Oroxindin from B. monnieri can be a potent inhibitor for the effective killing of K. pneumoniae and P. mirabilis. Additionally, its safety has been established, indicating its potential for future drug discovery and development in the treatment for UTIs.     

Biosynthesis,Characterization and Antibacterial Application of Novel Silver Nanoparticles against Drug Resistant Pathogenic Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella Enteritidis

The present study highlights the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using culture supernatant of Massilia sp. MAHUQ-52 as well as the antimicrobial application of synthesized AgNPs against multi-drug resistant pathogenic Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella Enteritidis. Well-defined AgNPs formation occurred from the reaction mixture of cell-free supernatant and silver nitrate (AgNO₃) solution within 48 h of incubation. UV-visible spectroscopy analysis showed a strong peak at 435 nm, which corresponds to the surface plasmon resonance of AgNPs. The synthesized AgNPs were characterized by FE-TEM, EDX, XRD, DLS and FT-IR. From FE-TEM analysis, it was found that most of the particles were spherical shape, and the size of synthesized nanoparticles (NPs) was 15–55 nm. EDX spectrum revealed a strong silver signal at 3 keV. XRD analysis determined the crystalline, pure, face-centered cubic AgNPs. FT-IR analysis identified various functional molecules that may be involved with the synthesis and stabilization of AgNPs. The antimicrobial activity of Massilia sp. MAHUQ-52 mediated synthesized AgNPs was determined using the disk diffusion method against K. pneumoniae and S. Enteritidis. Biosynthesized AgNPs showed strong antimicrobial activity against both K. pneumoniae and S. Enteritidis. The MICs of synthesized AgNPs against K. pneumoniae and S. Enteritidis were 12.5 and 25.0 μg/mL, respectively. The MBC of biosynthesized AgNPs against both pathogens was 50.0 μg/mL. From FE-SEM analysis, it was found that the AgNPs-treated cells showed morphological changes with irregular and damaged cell walls that culminated in cell death.     

Antimicrobial and Cytotoxicity Properties of 2,3-Dihydroxy-9,10-Anthraquinone Isolated from Streptomyces galbus (ERINLG-127)

Streptomyces galbus ERINLG-127 was isolated from the soil samples of the Marapalam forest, Nilgiris, India. The ethyl acetate extract was subjected to activity-guided fractionation by column chromatography over silica gel. This led to the isolation of 2,3-dihydroxy-9,10-anthraquinone as the active principle. The compound showed good antimicrobial activity against tested bacteria and fungi. The minimum inhibitory concentration values of isolated compound were 12.5 μg/mL against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhimurium, K. pneumoniae (ESBL-3971), K. pneumoniae (ESBL-3894) and Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The compound showed prominent cytotoxic activity in vitro against A549 lung adenocarcinoma cancer cell line. It showed 75.1 % activity at the dose of 100 μg/mL with IC₅₀ value of 60 μg/mL. The isolated compound was subjected to molecular docking studies for the inhibition of TtgR and Topoisomerase IV enzymes which are targets for antimicrobials. Docking studies of the compound showed low docking energy indicating its usefulness as antimicrobial agent.     

Antibody-recruiting protein-catalyzed capture agents to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Antibiotic resistant infections are projected to cause over 10 million deaths by 2050, yet the development of new antibiotics has slowed. This points to an urgent need for methodologies for the rapid development of antibiotics against emerging drug resistant pathogens. We report on a generalizable combined computational and synthetic approach, called antibody-recruiting protein-catalyzed capture agents (AR-PCCs), to address this challenge. We applied the combinatorial protein catalyzed capture agent (PCC) technology to identify macrocyclic peptide ligands against highly conserved surface protein epitopes of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, an opportunistic Gram-negative pathogen with drug resistant strains. Multi-omic data combined with bioinformatic analyses identified epitopes of the highly expressed MrkA surface protein of K. pneumoniae for targeting in PCC screens. The top-performing ligand exhibited high-affinity (EC₅₀ ∼50 nM) to full-length MrkA, and selectively bound to MrkA-expressing K. pneumoniae, but not to other pathogenic bacterial species. AR-PCCs that bear a hapten moiety promoted antibody recruitment to K. pneumoniae, leading to enhanced phagocytosis and phagocytic killing by macrophages. The rapid development of this highly targeted antibiotic implies that the integrated computational and synthetic toolkit described here can be used for the accelerated production of antibiotics against drug resistant bacteria.

Antibody-recruiting protein-catalyzed capture agent (AR-PCCs) are a new class of all-synthetic and highly targeted antibiotics that recruit endogenous immune responses to eliminate drug-resistant microbes.     

The effect of preparation temperature on the mechanical and antibacterial properties of poly(vinyl alcohol)/silver nitrate films

There has been a growing interest in developing antibacterial polymeric materials. The logical consequence following development of a new material is optimisation of its processing conditions and investigation of the influence of processing parameters on functionality of a given material. The present work deals with investigation of the effect of preparation temperature on the mechanical and antibacterial properties of polymer films based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and silver nitrate (0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 wt.% silver content). The mechanical properties of the films prepared at various temperatures (25, 35, 50, 60, 75 °C) were characterized by using stress-strain analysis. Antibacterial properties were determined by using an agar diffusion test and a dilution and spread plate technique against both Gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae). The results show significant effect of the elevated temperature on the samples properties.     

On-line measurement of extracellular enzymes during fermentation by using membrane techniques

The measurement of enzymes during fermentation is of general interest for process control in industrial biotechnology. Studies are presented to develop an on-line measurement for extracellular hydrolases by using membrane separations as the main unit operation, first for achieving continuous sampling from the bioreactor prior to analysis, and secondly for measuring hydrolytic activities, by separating the cleavage products during reaction of enzymes with high-molecular-weight substrates by an ultrafiltration membrane. The evaluation of batchwise and continuous flow analysis for an alkaline protease and pullulanase are described, and the feasibility of on-line measurement during fermentation of Bacillus licheniformis and Klebsiella pneumoniae on a 30- and 70-l pilot scale is demonstrated, including aseptic continuous sampling.     

Synthesis of tetra- and hexasaccharide fragments corresponding to the O-antigenic polysaccharide of Klebsiella pneumoniae

The preparation of linear tetra- (1) and hexasaccharides (2), containing the repeating unit [→3)-β-Galf-(1→3)-α-Galp-(1→] present in the O-polysaccharide of the lipopolysaccharide of Klebsiella pneumoniae is described. The key step in their synthesis is the α-selective galactopyranosylation of 3-OH di- and tetrasaccharide acceptors (20 and 22) with a disaccharide trichloroacetimidate donor 19 in the presence of trimethylsilyl triflate in a diethyl ether–CH₂Cl₂ mixture as solvent.     

Synthesis, characterization and pharmacological activities of 2-[4-cyano-(3-trifluoromethyl)phenyl amino)]-4-(4-quinoline/coumarin-4-yloxy)-6-(fluoropiperazinyl)-s-triazines

A series of 2-[4-cyano-(3-trifluoromethyl)phenyl amino)]-4-(4-quinoline/coumarin-4-yloxy)-6-(fluoropiperazinyl)-s-triazines has been synthesized by a simple and efficient synthetic protocol. The antimicrobial activity of the compounds was studied against several bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 96, Bacillus cereus MTCC 619, Escherichia coli MTCC 739, Pseudomonas aeruginosa MTCC 741, Klebsiella pneumoniae MTCC 109, Salmonella typhi MTCC 733, Proteus vulgaris MTCC 1771, Shigella flexneria MTCC 1457) and fungi (Aspergillus niger MTCC 282, Aspergillus fumigatus MTCC 343, Aspergillus clavatus MTCC 1323, Candida albicans MTCC 183) using paper disc diffusion technique and agar streak dilution method. Newly synthesized compounds were also tested for their in vitro antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv using BACTEC MGIT and Lowenstein-Jensen MIC method.     

Synthesis and antibacterial properties of new phenothiazinyl- and phenyl-nitrones

The synthesis of new phenothiazinyl- and phenyl-nitrones under classical versus microwave heating conditions is described. Better yields were obtained under microwave irradiation in the condensation reactions of phenothiazyl-carbaldehyde with hydroxylamine derivatives. The structures of the new phenothiazinyl-nitrones were assigned on the basis of MS, FT–IR and NMR spectra. The new nitrones and some known phenyl-nitrones were screened for their antibacterial and antifungal activity against several Candida species, Gram negative bacteria, such as E. coli, Citrobacter spp, Morganella spp, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae (± ESBL), Proteus spp, Acinetobacter spp and the Gram positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, with moderate results.     

Construction of a Novel Expression System in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Klebsiella pneumoniae</Emphasis> and its Application for 1,3-Propanediol Production

A novel expression system of Klebsiella pneumoniae was developed in order to improve 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) production using a K. pneumoniae–Escherichia coli shuttle vector pET28a consisting of the kanamycin-resistance gene promoter Pkan. The recombinant plasmid pETPkan-cat carrying the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene cat as selectable marker was constructed to test the availability of the promoter Pkan in K. pneumoniae. The results showed that the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase was apparently expressed in K. pneumoniae, and the recombinant strain had a high-level resistance to chloramphenicol, suggesting that the promoter Pkan was efficient in K. pneumoniae. Then, the expression system was applied to the expression of 1,3-PD oxidoreductase in K. pneumoniae. The enzyme was over-expressed, and the recombinant K. pneumoniae showed a nearly 3.0-fold decrease in peak level of the intermediary metabolite 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde and an increase of 16.5% in yield of 1,3-PD with respect to the wild-type strain. From these results, the first reported expression system has paved the way for improvement of 1,3-PD production and will be available and efficient for other heterologous gene expression in K. pneumoniae.     

Potential bioactive secondary metabolites of Actinomycetes sp. isolated from rocky soils of the heritage village Rijal Alma,Saudi Arabia

The present study was designed to discover novel secondary antibiotic metabolites from Actinomycetes species from the soil of Rijal Almaa, Saudi Arabia. A laboratory-scale benchtop fermentation was utilized for the demonstration of antibiotics from the soil actinomycetes. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectroscopy analysis of the fermented product (FP) was carried out, which showed unique fingerprint regions indicating the presence of phenolic hydroxyl groups, aliphatic compounds, carboxylic groups, esters, isothiocyanate, etc. GC-MS analysis of the FP depicted the unique structures of secondary metabolites, such as cyclononasiloxane octadecamethyl, cercosporin, ethyl iso-allocholate, octadecane, 3-ethyl-5-(2-ethylbutyl), dasycarpidan-1-methanol (acetate), heptadecane, 9-hexyl-, phthalic acid-butyl, and octadecane, 3-ethyl-5-(2-ethylbutyl). The TGA analysis showed the thermal stability of FP and the initial weight loss in FP was observed at 277.29 °C. The ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectra of FP analysis demonstrated the various characteristic peaks presence of secondary metabolites. The XRD analysis at 2θ revealed distinct particles based on specific diffraction peaks. A set of six human bacterial pathogens, namely, the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Streptococcus pyogenes (S. pyogenes), and Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) and Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae), were utilized for screening. The FP exhibited promising antibacterial effects against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial organisms. The antibacterial spectrum of activity was greater for E. coli and B. subtilis than for K. pneumoniae.     

Production of 1,3-propanediol by Klebsiella pneumoniae

1,3-Propanediol (1,3-PD) has numerous applications from polymers to cosmetics, foods, lubricants, and medicines. Recently, there are strong industrial interests in a new kind of polyester, polytrimethylene terephthalate, with 1,3-PD as a monomer. This new polyester shows significant promise for use in carpeting and textiles. In this article we introduce a mild aerobic fermentation process using a strain screened from Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 25955, which is insensitive to oxygen, to produce 1,3-PD. We also describe a two-step fermentation process starting with glucose that was converted into glycerol with a glycerol-producing yeast, followed by K. pneumoniae that converts glycerol into 1,3-PD without intermediate isolation and purification of glycerol.