Stressin' and slicin': stress-induced tRNA fragmentation codon-adapts translation to repress cell growth.

Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are central adaptors that decode genetic information during translation and have been long considered static cellular components. However, whether dynamic changes in tRNAs and tRNA-derived fragments actively contribute to gene regulation remains debated. In this issue, Huh et al (2020) highlight tyrosine tRNA fragmentation at the nexus of an evolutionarily conserved adaptive codon-based stress response that fine-tunes translation to restrain growth in human cells.