Germline-specific granules are found in many organisms but their function is poorly understood. Now, Ujwal Sheth, James Priess and co-workers report that C. elegans germline-specific granules (P granules) are principal sites of mRNA nuclear export in adult germ cells (see p. 1305). Although P granules are cytoplasmic in oocytes and early embryos, throughout most of the C. elegans life cycle they are perinuclear and associate with nuclear pore complexes (NPCs). The researchers show that cytoplasmic and perinuclear P granules have different structures and stabilities. Using immunocytochemistry, they demonstrate that mRNA export factors are highly enriched at P granule-associated NPCs. Other experiments indicate that nascent mRNA traffics directly to the P granules and that perinuclear P granules contain many components with clustered phenylalanine-glycine repeats – motifs that are involved in transport through the NPC. The researchers suggest, therefore, that perinuclear P granules are compartments where newly exported mRNAs are transiently ‘held’ to ensure that they bind appropriate regulatory molecules before being released into the general cytoplasm.