Fig. 6

Data fitting. a Fitting raw (not rescaled, as shown in Figure 4) clone size distribution data to 〈m _k 〉 from Eq. 6 at two time points for animal RQ5427. The maximum likelihood estimates (MLEs) are (a ^∗≈0.01,R ^∗≈70) and (a ^∗≈0.0025,R ^∗≈400) for data taken at 32 (blue) and 67 (red) months post-transplant, respectively. Note that the MLE values for different samples vary primarily due to different values of S (and hence ε) used in each measurement. b For animal RQ3570, the clone fractions at 32 (blue) and 38 (red) months yield (a ^∗≈0.04,R ^∗≈30) and (a ^∗≈0.1,R ^∗≈60), respectively. For clarity, we show the data and fitted models in terms of Q(q). c Estimated number of HSCs U+C (circles) and normalized differentiation rate a (squares) for animal RQ5427. d U+C and a for animal RQ3570. Note the temporal variability (but also long-term stability) in the estimated number of contributing HSCs. Additional details and fits for other animals are qualitatively similar and given in Additional file 1. HSC hematopoietic stem cell, PBMC, peripheral blood mononuclear cell Grans, granulocytes