The functional heterogeneity of resident stem cells that support adult organs is incompletely understood. Here, we directly visualize the corneal limbus in the eyes of live mice and identify discrete stem cell niche compartments. By recording the life cycle of individual stem cells and their progeny, we directly analyze their fates and show that their location within the tissue can predict their differentiation status. Stem cells in the inner limbus undergo mostly symmetric divisions and are required to sustain the population of transient progenitors that support corneal homeostasis. Using in situ photolabeling, we captured their progeny exiting the niche before moving centripetally in unison. The long-implicated slow-cycling stem cells are functionally distinct and display local clonal dynamics during homeostasis but can contribute to corneal regeneration after injury. This study demonstrates how the compartmentalized organization of functionally diverse stem cell populations supports the maintenance and regeneration of an adult organ.

支持成人器官的常驻干细胞的功能异质性尚不完全清楚。在这里，我们直接可视化活小鼠眼中的角膜缘并识别离散的干细胞生态位隔间。通过记录单个干细胞及其后代的生命周期，我们直接分析它们的命运，并表明它们在组织内的位置可以预测它们的分化状态。内角膜缘中的干细胞主要经历对称分裂，并且需要维持支持角膜稳态的瞬时祖细胞群。就地使用照相标记，我们捕捉到它们的后代离开生态位，然后一致地向心移动。长期牵连的慢循环干细胞在功能上是不同的，并且在体内平衡期间表现出局部克隆动力学，但有助于损伤后的角膜再生。这项研究展示了功能多样的干细胞群的分隔组织如何支持成人器官的维持和再生。