Hello, Jon,

I am glad you are using Dicty as a teaching tool in Pomona. 
For your purposes, staining with crystal violet or Coomasie may be the most appropriate (with fixation, I think). 

http://dictybase.org/ListServ_archive/listserv_archive_staining.html

See the section from Dale Hereld. 

-Ricky

On Dec 17, 2013, at 11:45 AM, Jon Moore <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Last spring we started running a dicty motility teaching lab for an intro cell
> biology/ cell chemistry class.  We've been using a modification of the under-agar
> assay, and are happy with the lab with one major exception: it is very difficult
> for our students to see and and identify the cells with the limited microscopic
> power we have.  We're using dissecting microscopes with 50x total power, of which
> we have 19 research-grade. We have considered investing in better microscopes, 
> but there is little likelihood that we'll get 9 or more of these without outside funding.  
> We've tweaked the lighting about as much as possible.  Does anyone have any
> suggestions as to how we might better visualize them, including ideas like good 
> stains?  We're running this as an end-point assay, so if the stain kills them once
> they've migrated, that's Ok.
> 
> Thanks and peace,
> 
> Jon Moore
> assistant professor, Pomona College
> 909-621-8607
> [log in to unmask]
> 
> (Yes, I've met almost none of you.  No one at Pomona works on dicty;
> this is an outgrowth of a lab that started with a breast cancer cell line.)