Myxosoma cerebralis: A method for staining spores and other stages with silver nitrate

Eleven dye substances were tested for their ability to stain Myxosoma cerebralis and to be retained through either the pepsin-trypsin-dextrose or the plankton centrifuge method of releasing and concentrating spores. Silver nitrate proved to be the best; it produced a distinctive brown color that has been retained by spores through 2.5 yr of storage. The method has applications in histologic studies of whirling disease, in quantifying the efficiency of spore detection procedures, and in teaching.