In the Calvin cycle, DHAP is one of the products of the sixfold reduction of 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate by NADPH. It is also used in the synthesis of sedoheptulose 1,7-bisphosphate and fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, both of which are used to reform ribulose 5-phosphate, the key carbohydrate of the Calvin cycle.
DHAP is also the product of the dehydrogenation of -glycerol-3-phosphate, which is part of the entry of glycerol (sourced from triglycerides) into the glycolytic pathway. Conversely, reduction of glycolysis-derived DHAP to -glycerol-3-phosphate provides adipose cells with the activated glycerol backbone they require to synthesize new triglycerides. Both reactions are catalyzed by the enzyme glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase with NAD/NADH as cofactor.
DHAP also has a role in the ether-lipid biosynthesis process in the protozoan parasite Leishmania mexicana.
DHAP is a precursor to 2-oxopropanal.  This conversion is the basis of a potential biotechnological route to the commodity chemical 1,2-propanediol.