Microbiology is by nature a broad discipline, covering a wide range of quite diverse areas.
This is reflected in the way it must be taught to be able to present a comprehensive course, and consequently also in the areas of research that are encompassed. Microbiology at the Department of Microbiology at La Trobe University is no exception, and the broad fields of research available in the Department are set out below. Both pure and applied areas of research are represented and available. Genetic and molecular studies of signal transduction during development and behaviour in the model eukaryote, Dictyostelium discoideum . Heat shock genes and heat-shock enhanced free radical production in Dictyostelium .