No chromosome left behind: The importance of metaphase alignment for mitotic fidelity.

Chromosome alignment is a hallmark of mitosis in metazoans, but the physiological relevance of this orderly behavior has remained unclear. In this issue, Fonseca et al. (2019. J. Cell Biol. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201807228) show that chromosome alignment ensures mitotic fidelity by promoting interchromosomal compaction during anaphase.