The 3D Ultrastructure of C. elegans Gut Granules

Grant Archer; Sam Bartlowe; Bilegtugs Bayarbadrakh; Dawson Bok; Carolina Bushong; Anna Carroll; Megan Cole; Eric J. Dahl; Nicholas Denier; Ahmed Elewa; Hafsa El Harchi; Daniel Fisher; Hannah Grant; Rachel Grinfeld; Aliyah Grijalva; Aiden Hale; Cara Hendricks; Melek Iskandar; Sharron Kagan; Nidhi Mistry; Hope Keuneke; Lauryn Lammers; Annie Lyons; Quinn Maclin; Tatum Moore; Connor Munro; Gavin Nickerson; Brando Papalia; Kate Peacock; Lauren Ritzman

doi:10.64898/2026.03.04.709038

Cell BiologybioRxivMar 4, 2026

Preprint

The 3D Ultrastructure of C. elegans Gut Granules

Grant Archer iD, Sam Bartlowe iD, Bilegtugs Bayarbadrakh iD, Dawson Bok iD, Carolina Bushong iD, Anna Carroll iD, Megan Cole iD, Eric J. Dahl iD, Nicholas Denier iD, Ahmed Elewa iD, Hafsa El Harchi iD, Daniel Fisher iD, Hannah Grant iD, Rachel Grinfeld iD, Aliyah Grijalva iD, Aiden Hale iD, Cara Hendricks iD, Melek Iskandar iD, Sharron Kagan iD, Nidhi Mistry iD, Hope Keuneke iD, Lauryn Lammers iD, Annie Lyons iD, Quinn Maclin iD, Tatum Moore iD, , Paulina Wojdyla iD

Abstract

We identify an endoderm-restricted organelle in published volume electron microscopy datasets of C. elegans embryos. The organelle consists of a tubular ring surrounding a membrane-bound compartment harboring a prominent dense particle and exhibits a basal polarity and size concordant with canonical gut granules. This finding offers ultrastructural detail to recent evidence that gut granules are bi-lobed organelles with two distinct compartments.

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