Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Resolves Molecular Relationships Among Individual Plant Cells

) root cells. We find that all major tissues and developmental stages are represented in this single-cell transcriptome population. Further, distinct subpopulations and rare cell types, including putative quiescent center cells, were identified. A focused analysis of root epidermal cell transcriptomes defined developmental trajectories for individual cells progressing from meristematic through mature stages of root-hair and nonhair cell differentiation. In addition, single-cell transcriptomes were obtained from root epidermis mutants, enabling a comparative analysis of gene expression at single-cell resolution and providing an unprecedented view of the impact of the mutated genes. Overall, this study demonstrates the feasibility and utility of scRNA-seq in plants and provides a first-generation gene expression map of the Arabidopsis root at single-cell resolution.