1,3-Propanediol production from glycerol by a newly isolated Trichococcus strain

A coccal bacterium (strain ES5) was isolated from methanogenic bioreactor sludge with glycerol as the sole energy and carbon source. Strain ES5 fermented glycerol to 1,3-propanediol as main product, and lactate, acetate and formate as minor products. The strain was phylogenetically closely related to Trichococcus flocculiformis; the rRNA gene sequence similarity was 99%. However, strain ES5 does not show the typical growth in chains of T. flocculiformis. Moreover, T. flocculiformis does not ferment glycerol. Strain ES5 used a variety of sugars for growth. With these substrates, lactate, acetate and formate were the main products, while 1,3-propanediol was not formed. The optimum growth temperature of strain ES5 ranges from 30-37°C, but like several other Trichoccoccus strains, strain ES5 is able to grow at low temperature (< 10°C). Therefore, strain ES5 may be an appropriate catalyst for the biotechnological production of 1,3-propanediol from glycerol at low ambient temperature.