Fig. 2

Evaluation of trichome quantity and quality after trichome release, enrichment and purification. A Quantification of trichomes recovered by the various purification regimes. The boxplot indicates the outcome of three experiments with three to six samples per experiment for the three methods. Letters indicate significance groups (Student’s t-test corrected with FDR, α = 0.01). Brackets and assigned p-values suggest differences in trichome number before DGC (RAW) and in the 80% fraction following DGC (PURE) for VORTEX and STIRRER samples (paired t-test). B Representative micrographs illustrating sample content and purity for the three procedures in RAW (before DGC) and PURE (after sucrose DGC) samples. Scale bars represent 500 µm. C Representative centrifugation tubes showing RAW (before DGC) and PURE (after sucrose DGC) trichome samples (STIRRER method). D Adaxial view of A. thaliana leaf discs before (LEAF(+)) and after (LEAF(−)) trichome release. Micrographs are merged pictures of brightfield and ultraviolet (UV) illumination with trichomes showing autofluorescence upon the latter. The arrowhead indicates a trichome that remained attached after the release procedure. Scale bars represent 500 µm