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This Review describes our latest understanding of the range of functions of tRNAs. Emerging roles include the tight regulation of tRNA biogenesis to meet the translational needs of different cell types, cleavage and covalent modification of tRNAs in stress signalling, and diverse mechanistic links to various diseases.
Increasing evidence suggests that competition between transcripts for binding of microRNAs and RNA-binding proteins might be a fundamental principle of post-transcriptional gene regulation. The authors use a simple steady-state model to quantitatively assess competition effects under physiological conditions and review the role of endogenous 'sponges' in light of the key features that emerge.
Transposable elements are key drivers of evolutionary innovation across many species. This Opinion article proposes evolutionary scenarios in which transposable elements have acted on innate immunity loci to generate adaptive immune systems and discusses striking parallels between the evolution of different adaptive immune systems: CRISPR–Cas in bacteria and archaea, and V(D)J recombination in vertebrates.