In this podcast, Peter Christey, PhD, CEO of General Automation Lab Technologies, commonly known simply as GALT, provides an overview of his company’s work in the area of microbial cultivation.

Christey has two decades of extensive experience commercializing research instruments for complex applications. Christey commercialized new, innovative products for Guava Technologies, as well as the industry leader, Chiron Corporation and also Applied Biosystems. Christey has a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Otago in New Zealand, and he earned his PhD in molecular biology from the prestigious University of Cambridge in England. Christey also holds an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.

Christey talks about microbial cultivation in a laboratory setting, and how his keen interest in microbes, and their potential, motivated him to develop microbes for expanded use in various areas. He discusses proteomics applications, microbial diversity, and detailed information on pure isolates and how his team studies biochemistry and physiology. GALT delivers living isolates to product developers and researchers. Via his company’s tech, complete populations of microbes can be screened quickly for low-abundance species and to identify strains that show specific characteristics.

There are close to one-trillion microbial species on Earth; yet less than one percent of them have been cultured, thus there are infinite numbers of species that have yet to be explored, and the potential information we stand to gain is immense as research expands. Christey discusses the microbiome, and growth media, and he provides extensive information on precisely how bacteria grow, and what is needed for growth, discussing the intricate symbiotic relationships that are exhibited.

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