biostudies-literatureYan RDavid and Lucile Packard FoundationNIGMS NIH HHSNIGMS512-525.e8https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8891076biostudies-literatureUnknown57(4)The endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-to-Golgi transport is critical to protein secretion and intracellular sorting. Here, we report a highly elongated tubular ER-Golgi intermediate compartment (t-ERGIC) that selectively expedites the ER-to-Golgi transport for soluble cargoes of the receptor SURF4. Lacking the canonical ERGIC marker ERGIC-53 yet positive for the small GTPases Rab1A/B, the t-ERGIC is further marked by its extraordinarily elongated and thinned shape. With its large surface-to-volume ratio, high intracellular traveling speeds, and ER-Golgi recycling capabilities, the t-ERGIC accelerates the trafficking of SURF4-bound cargoes. The biogenesis and cargo selectivity of t-ERGIC both depend on SURF4, which recognizes the N terminus of soluble cargoes and co-clusters with the selected cargDevelopmental cellSURF4-induced tubular ERGIC selectively expedites ER-to-Golgi transport.PMC8891076DP2 GM132681Xu KChen KWang BYan RfalseSURF4-induced tubular ERGIC selectively expedites ER-to-Golgi transport.The endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-to-Golgi transport is critical to protein secretion and intracellular sorting. Here, we report a highly elongated tubular ER-Golgi intermediate compartment (t-ERGIC) that selectively expedites the ER-to-Golgi transport for soluble cargoes of the receptor SURF4. Lacking the canonical ERGIC marker ERGIC-53 yet positive for the small GTPases Rab1A/B, the t-ERGIC is further marked by its extraordinarily elongated and thinned shape. With its large surface-to-volume ratio, high intracellular traveling speeds, and ER-Golgi recycling capabilities, the t-ERGIC accelerates the trafficking of SURF4-bound cargoes. The biogenesis and cargo selectivity of t-ERGIC both depend on SURF4, which recognizes the N terminus of soluble cargoes and co-clusters with the selected carg2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Feb2026-05-28T08:07:33.052Z2025-04-25T17:02:44.554ZS-EPMC88910763505135610.1016/j.devcel.2021.12.018