The present invention provides an 
improved method for the biological production of 1,3-
propanediol from a fermentable 
carbon source in a single 
microorganism. In one aspect of the present invention, an improved process for the conversion of glucose to 1,3-
propanediol is achieved by the use of an E. coli transformed with the 
Klebsiella pneumoniae dha 
regulon genes dhaR, orfY, dhaT, orfX, orfW, dhaB1, dhaB2, dhaB3, and orfZ, all these genes arranged in the same genetic organization as found in 
wild type Klebsiella pneumoniae. In another aspect of the present invention, an improved process for the production of 1,3-
propanediol from glucose using a recombinant E. coli containing genes encoding a G3PDH, a G3P 
phosphatase, a 
dehydratase, and a 
dehydratase reactivation factor compared to an identical process using a recombinant E. coli containing genes encoding a G3PDH, a G3P 
phosphatase, a 
dehydratase, a dehydratase reactivation factor and a 1,3-
propanediol oxidoreductase (dhaT). The dramatically improved process relies on the presence in E. coli of a 
gene encoding a non-specific catalytic activity sufficient to convert 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde to 1,3-propanediol.