Membrane trafficking and organelle biogenesis in Giardia lamblia: Use it or lose it

► Giardia lamblia is an important parasite with a simple cellular organization. ► Secondary loss has led to compaction and minimization of the giardial organelle and trafficking system. ► The giardial membrane transport system is capable of deploying protective surface coats for both developmental stages. ► The giardial cyst wall could serve as a model to investigate the basic principles of the synthesis and assembly of extremely simple but highly protective biopolymers.