Function through absence: Active RNA exclusion from chromosomes leads to proper cell division.

The dynamics and functional roles of chromatin-bound RNA during cell division are largely unexplored. In this issue, Sharp et al. (2020. J. Cell Biol.https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201910148) found that a mitosis-specific signal evicts RNA-bound SAF-A from chromosomes, and its absence leads to proper chromosome segregation.