Arf4 is required for Mammalian development but dispensable for ciliary assembly.
The primary cilium is a sensory organelle, defects in which cause a wide range of human diseases Kimberwick including retinal degeneration, polycystic kidney disease and birth defects.The sensory functions of cilia require specific receptors to be targeted to the ciliary subdomain of the plasma membrane.Arf4 has been proposed to sort cargo destined