Process for producing optically active 1,3-butanediol by asymmetric assimilation

A process for producing optically active 1,3-butanediol which comprises (1) treating a mixture of 1,3-butanediol enantiomers with a microorganism capable of asymmetrically assimilating said mixture, leaving either the (R)- or the (S)-enantiomer intact to produce optically active 1,3-butanediol, said microorganism to be selected from the group consisting of:

• Brevibacterium iodinum
• Klebsiella pneumoniae
• Lodderomyces elongisporus
• Pseudomonas diminuta
• Pseudomonas putida
• Rhodotorula glutinis
• Saccharomycopsis lipolytica
• Trichosporon cutaneum
• Agrobacterium radiobacter
• Azotobacter chroococcum
• Bacillus subtilis
• Corynebacterium michiganense
• Dekkera bruxellensis
• Endomyces decipiens
• Erwinia carotovora subsp. cartovora
• Hansenula subpelliculosa
• Issatchenkia scutulata var. scutulata
• Micrococcus luteus
• Mycobacterium smegmatis
• Pachysolen tannophilus
• Paracoccus denitrificans
• Stephanoascus ciferrii and
• Xanthomonas maltophilia
• and (2) collecting the optically active 1,3-butanediol remaining intact.

A process for producing optically active 1,3-butanediol which comprises (1) treating a mixture of 1,3-butanediol enantiomers with a microorganism, capable of asymmetrically assimilating said mixture, said microorganism to be selected from the group consisting of:

• ______________________________________ Brevibacterium iodinum IFO 3558 Candida parapsilosis IFO 1396 Enterobacter cloacae ATCC 7256 Geotrichum candidum IFO 5368 Geotrichum rectangulatum JCM 1750 Geotrichum klebahnii JCM 2171 Geotrichum fermentans JCM 2467 Geotrichum capitatum JCM 3908 Geotrichum eriense JCM 3912 Klebsiella pneumoniae IFO 12009 Lodderomyces elongisporus IFO 1676 Pseudomonas diminuta IFO 12697 Rhodotorula glutinis IFO 0395 Saccharomycopsis lipolytica IFO 1550 Trichosporon cutaneum IFO 1198 Agrobacterium radiobacter IFO 12664 Azotobacter chroococcum IFO 12994 Bacillus cereus AHU 1707 Bacillus subtilis IFO 3007 Brettanomyces abstines DSM 70726 Candida cariosilignicola DSM 2148 Candida kefyr (Beijerinck) DSM 70073 Candida krusei (Castellani) DSM 70075 Candida succiphila DSM 2149 Candida utilis IFO 0639 Citrobacter freundii AHU 1534 Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 Corynebacterium michiganense IFO 13762 Dekkera bruxellensis IFO 1590 Endomyces decipiens IFO 0102 Erwinia carotovora subsp. IFO 3830 cartovora Geotrichum fragrans JCM 1749 Hansenula anomala DSM 70130 Hansenula minuta DSM 70274 Hansenula subpelliculosa IFO 0808 Hansenula wickerhamii DSM 70280 Hansenula wingei DSM 10281 Issatchenkia scutulata var. IFO 10070 scutulata Klebsiella pneumoniae IFO 12059 Kluyveromyces lactis IFO 1267 Micrococcus luteus IFO 3333 Mycobacterium smegmatis IFO 3135 Pachysolen tannophilus IFO 1007 Paracoccus denitrificans IFO 12442 Pichia cellobiosa DSM 2147 Pichia lindnerii DSM 70718 Pichia opuntiae var. IFO 10025 thermotolerans Pichia pastoris DSM 70382 Pichia querquum DSM 70386 Pichia sargentensis DSM 70388 Pichia trehalophila DSM 70391 Pseudomonas putida IFO 3738 Selenotila peltata DSM 70579 Serratia marcescens IAM 1105 Stephanoascus ciferrii IFO 1854 and Xanthomonas maltophilia IFO 12690 ______________________________________
• and (2) collecting the optically active 1,3-butanediol remaining intact.