Nucleosomes inhibit the initiation of transcription but allow chain elongation with the displacement of histones.

Within the nucleosome Kornberg found that roughly 200 bp of DNA are wrapped around an octamer of histone proteins. With Yahli Lorch, Kornberg showed that a nucleosome on a promoter prevents the initiation of transcription, leading to the recognition of a functional role for the nucleosome, which serves as a general gene repressor. Order of authorship in the original publication: Lorsch, Lapointe, Kornberg.