Quantitative intra-Golgi transport and organization data suggest the stable compartment nature of the Golgi.

How the intra-Golgi secretory transport works remains a mystery. The cisternal progression and the stable compartment models have been proposed and are under debate. Classic cisternal progression model posits that both the intra-Golgi transport and Golgi exit of secretory cargos should occur at a constant velocity dictated by the cisternal progression; furthermore, COPI-mediated intra-Golgi retrograde transport is essential for maintaining the Golgi organization. Leveraging our recently developed Golgi imaging tools in nocodazole-induced Golgi ministacks, we found that the intra-Golgi transport velocity of a secretory cargo decreases during their transition from the cis to the trans-side of the Golgi, and different cargos exhibit distinct velocities even within the same cisternae. We observed a vast variation in the Golgi residence times of different cargos. Remarkably, truncation of the luminal domain causes the Golgi residence time of Tac - a standard transmembrane secretory cargo without intra-Golgi recycling signals - to extend from 16 min to a notable 3.4 hr. Additionally, when COPI-mediated intra-Golgi retrograde transport was inhibited by brefeldin A, we found that nocodazole-induced Golgi can remain stacked for over 30-60 min. Therefore, our findings challenge the classical cisternal progression model and suggest the stable compartment nature of the Golgi.