The making and breaking of tRNAs by ribonucleases.

Ribonucleases (RNases) play important roles in supporting canonical and non-canonical roles of tRNAs by catalyzing the cleavage of the tRNA phosphodiester backbone. Here, we highlight how recent advances in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), protein structure prediction, reconstitution experiments, tRNA sequencing, and other studies have revealed new insight into the nucleases that process tRNA. This represents a very diverse group of nucleases that utilize distinct mechanisms to recognize and cleave tRNA during different stages of a tRNA's life cycle including biogenesis, fragmentation, surveillance, and decay. In this review, we provide a synthesis of the structure, mechanism, regulation, and modes of tRNA recognition by tRNA nucleases, along with open questions for future investigation.

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Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Declaration of interests The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.