Self/non-self discrimination is central to T cell-mediated immunity. The kinetic proofreading model can explain T cell antigen receptor (TCR) ligand discrimination; however, the rate-limiting steps have not been identified. Here, we show that tyrosine phosphorylation of the T cell adaptor protein LAT at position Y132 is a critical kinetic bottleneck for ligand discrimination. LAT phosphorylation at Y132, mediated by the kinase ZAP-70, leads to the recruitment and activation Users may view, print, copy, and download text and data-mine the content in such documents, for the purposes of academic research, subject always to the full Conditions of use: