In eukaryotes, transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are transcribed in the nucleus yet function in the cytoplasm; thus, tRNA movement within the cell was believed to be unidirectional-from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. It is now known that mature tRNAs also move in a retrograde direction from the cytoplasm to the nucleus via retrograde tRNA nuclear import, a process that is conserved from yeast to vertebrates. The biological significance of this tRNA nuclear import is not entirely clear. We hypothesized that retrograde tRNA nuclear import might function in proofreading tRNAs to ensure that only proper tRNAs reside in the cytoplasm and interact with the translational machinery. Here we identify two major types of aberrant tRNAs in yeast: a 5′, 3′ end-extended, spliced tRNA and hypomodified tRNAs. We show that both types of aberrant tRNAs accumulate in mutant cells that are defective in tRNA nuclear traffic, suggesting that they are normally imported into the nucleus and are repaired or degraded. The retrograde pathway functions in parallel with the cytoplasmic rapid tRNA decay pathway previously demonstrated to monitor tRNA quality, and cells are not viable if they lack both pathways. Our data support the hypothesis that the retrograde process provides a newly discovered level of tRNA quality control as a pathway that monitors both end processing of pre-tRNAs and the modification state of mature tRNAs.tRNA retrograde pathway | tRNA processing errors | quality control pathways | Mtr10 | Los1 T ransfer RNAs (tRNAs) are well known for their role as adaptor molecules during the translation of mRNAs into proteins, delivering amino acids to the ribosome for incorporation into a polypeptide chain. In eukaryotes, tRNAs are transcribed in the nucleus as primary transcripts that undergo extensive processing, chemical modification, and subcellular trafficking to produce the mature tRNAs that function in cytoplasmic translation. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, tRNA transcription in the nucleolus (1), with one exception (2), is followed by removal of the 5′ leader sequence by RNase P (3). The 3′ trailer is subsequently removed endonucleolytically, presumably by tRNase Z (4-6), and/or exonucleolytically by Rex1 (7,8). Following removal of the 3′ trailer, the nucleotides C 74 C 75 A 76 , necessary for tRNA aminoacylation, are added to the 3′ terminus. Twenty percent of yeast tRNAs are transcribed with an intron (9). Splicing of tRNA introns occurs in the cytoplasm in yeast, on the outer surface of mitochondria where the tRNA splicing endonuclease complex resides (10-12). Thus, end-processed intron-containing tRNAs are exported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm before removal of the intron. This primary export of intron-containing pre-tRNA is mediated by the β-importin family member Los1 (13-15). Because LOS1 is unessential and because it is essential to have tRNAs delivered to the cytoplasm, there is at least one additional unidentified nuclear exporter for end-processed intron-containing pre-tRNA (16).tRNAs are subject to numerous pos...