Figure 3. The Longest Root Telomeres Are Mapped in the Stem Cell Niche.

(A–D) Q-FISH histogram showing telomere fluorescence frequencies in the different cell types of Col-0 root: stem cell niche (SCN) (A), columella (B), stele (C), and ground tissues (D). Average telomere fluorescence and SEM are indicated. See also Figure S2.

(E) Q-FISH histograms of G3, G4, G5 tert stem cell niche. Note the high difference in telomere length compared to Col-0 stem cell niche.

(F) Boxplots showing the heterogeneity between cell types in telomere-length distributions of Col-0 compared to G5 tert. Boxes represent the interquartile range (25^th–75^th percentiles, median indicated by the black horizontal line, average indicated by the dashed line) of the distribution, whiskers extend to the 10^th and 90^th percentiles and outliers are represented by black dots. n represents the number of nuclei pooled for the histograms from seven individual Col-0 plants and from three plants for each G3, G4, and G5 tert mutants. For Col-0 and G5 tert roots, SCN telomere-length values were compared to ground tissues, stele, and columella values. Statistical significant differences were observed in Col-0 only between SCN and stele and between SCN and ground tissues. In the G5 tert mutants, no differences were observed between cell types. *p < 0.05.