The transcriptional repressor Bach1 mediates various stress responses. Despite 
its role in transcription, Bach1 is predominantly exported to the cytoplasm in a 
Crm1-dependent manner, but the functional role of its cytoplasmic retention is 
still unclear. We found that Bach1 was also excluded from mitotic chromatin by a 
C-terminal cytoplasmic localization sequence dependent and leptomycin B 
sensitive process. Bach1 depletion resulted in disordered mitotic chromosome 
alignment, which was rescued by Bach1 mutants lacking the BTB or DNA binding 
domains, suggesting its transcription-independent mechanism. We thus revealed a 
novel role of Bach1 in the regulation of mitotic chromosome dynamics.