tRNAs are encoded by RNA polymerase III-transcribed genes that reside at seemingly random intervals along the chromosomes of budding yeast. Existing evidence suggests that the genes congregate together at the nucleolus and/or centromeres. In this study, we re-examined spatial and temporal aspects of tRNA gene (tDNA) expression. We show that tDNA transcription fluctuates during cell cycle progression. In M phase, when tRNA synthesis peaks, tDNAs localize at nuclear pore complexes (NPCs). Docking of a tDNA requires the DNA sequence of the contacted gene, nucleoporins Nup60 and Nup2, and cohesin. Characterization of mutants that block NPC localization revealed that docking is a consequence of elevated tDNA transcription. NPC-tDNA contact falters in the absence of the principal exportin of nascent tRNA, Los1, and genetic assays indicate that gating of tDNAs at NPCs favors cytoplasmic accumulation of functional tRNA. Collectively, the data suggest that tDNAs associate with NPCs to coordinate RNA polymerase III transcription with the nuclear export of pre-tRNA. The M-phase specificity of NPC contact reflects a regulatory mechanism that may have evolved, in part, to avoid collisions between DNA replication forks and transcribing RNA polymerase III machinery at NPCs.[Keywords: tRNA gene; RNA polymerase III; nuclear pore complex; cohesin; cell cycle; Los1 exportin] Supplemental material is available for this article. Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) form large aqueous channels through the nuclear envelope that permit transfer of materials between the nucleus and cytoplasm. In 1985, Blobel (1985 proposed the gene-gating hypothesis, which stipulated that transcriptionally poised genes associate with NPCs. In this way, tethered genes would be situated to export transcripts directly to the cytoplasm. The original gene-gating scheme also envisioned that genome packaging would influence the distribution of NPCs on the nuclear envelope. A contemporary spin on this idea posits that anchorage of genes to NPCs and other structures at the edge of the nucleus orchestrates the three-dimensional structure of the genome (Taddei and Gasser 2012).Substantial evidence for gating of RNA polymerase II genes has been obtained primarily from studies of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genome-wide approaches revealed that components of the NPC, known as nucleoporins or Nups, associate with many active genes (Casolari et al. 2004;Schmid et al. 2006). Focused analyses of representative examples showed that the genes moved from the nucleoplasm to the nuclear periphery upon induction in a Nup-dependent manner. That transcription and export might be coupled events emerged from studies showing that mRNA export machinery associated with transcribed genes and that the machinery was required for positioning the genes at NPCs (for review, see Dieppois and Stutz 2010). Whether gating of genes at NPCs affects their expression has been less certain. For example, one study showed that artificially targeting a reporter gene to NPCs increased transcri...