 Roberto Weinmann

Roberto Weinmann coauthored a 1974 study assigning transcription of transfer RNA and 5S ribosomal RNA genes to RNA polymerase III. With Robert G. Roeder, he compared the effects of alpha-amanitin on RNA synthesis in isolated cell nuclei and on chromatographically separated polymerase activities.^[ref]

The logic was comparative: an inhibitor-response pattern for a defined RNA product could be matched to a separated enzyme activity. This linked a biochemical distinction between RNA polymerases to the kinds of genes they transcribe, rather than inferring function from enzyme abundance alone.