In the cisternal maturation view of Golgi dynamics, cargo rides inside a cisterna as that cisterna progresses from the cis position toward trans. What keeps the resident processing enzymes at their proper positions within the aging stack?

Core Concept

Under this model, new cisternae arise at the cis edge and mature outward, changing their enzyme complements as they go. COPI vesicles retrieve misplaced enzymes and return them to earlier cisternae where their substrates exist, preserving each station's characteristic set. Cargo advances with its cisterna instead of hopping between fixed compartments.