DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 9/19/2025 has been entered.
The numbering of claims is still not in accordance with 37 CFR 1.126 which requires the original numbering of the claims to be preserved throughout the prosecution. When claims are canceled, the remaining claims must not be renumbered. When new claims are presented, they must be numbered consecutively beginning with the number next following the highest numbered claims previously presented (whether entered or not).
The claim labeled 19 in the claim set filed 9/19/2025 was renumbered to 18 in the Office action mailed 4/21/2025. New misnumbered claim 20 has been renumbered 19.
In response to this Office action, Applicant is required to submit a correctly numbered copy of the claim set.
Status of Claims
Claims 11 & 15-19 are under examination on the merits.
The objections to claim 11 are withdrawn in light of Applicant’s amendments.
The rejection of claims 11 & 15-18 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, is withdrawn in light of Applicant’s amendments.
Claim Interpretation
Claims 11 & 15-19 require a genetically modified plant comprising a recombinant resistance gene inserted into the plant genome. The specification does not provide a definition for “genetically modified” and mentions genetic modification only in contrast to translocation as a means to provide the Hs4 gene in a plant (page 4, paragraph 3). Claims 11 & 15-19 have been examined under the interpretation that “genetically modified plant” encompasses “genetically manipulated” plants, examples of which are provided by the specification as Agrobacterium transformation or genome editing (page 7, paragraph 3) but not plants created via translocation or introgression.
Claim Objections
Claim 17 is objected to because of the following informalities: “is a plant of the Amaranthaceae, Brassicaceae, Poaceae, or Solanaceae genus” should read --is a plant of the Amaranthaceae, Brassicaceae, Poaceae, or Solanaceae family--. Alternatively, claim 17 could be rewritten as a Markush group: --belongs to a family selected from the group consisting of Amaranthaceae, Brassicaceae, Poaceae, or Solanaceae.--
In either case, Amaranthaceae, Brassicaceae, Poaceae, and Solanaceae represent taxonomic families not genera. A genus within these families would be e.g. Solanum or Brassica.
Appropriate correction is required.
Written Description
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 11 & 15-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claims contain subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventors, at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Due to Applicant’s amendment of the claims, the rejection is modified from the rejection set forth in the Office action mailed 4/21/2025, as applied to claims 11 & 15-18. Applicant’s arguments filed 9/19/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Claims 11 & 15-19 require a recombinant resistance gene encoding a recombinant protein comprising SEQ ID NO: 1 or 17 or a functional variant of the recombinant protein comprising SEQ ID NO: 17 and having at least 90 or 95% overall sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 17, wherein the protein or functional variant is a rhomboid-like protease which confers resistance against plant parasitic nematodes.
The claims are drawn to a genetically modified plant comprising a recombinant resistance gene encoding a genus of amino acids and nucleic acids encoding for them. A functional variant having a sequence identity of at least 90% to the 207 base-pair long SEQ ID NO: 17 would have 20 substitutions relative to SEQ ID NO: 17.
The only species of protein described in the specification are SEQ ID NO: 1 (Hs4) and SEQ ID NO: 17 (Hs4_1) (page 3, paragraph 2), encoded by SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 2 (page 4, paragraph 2). SEQ ID NO: 17 as given on page 3 paragraph 2 has 98% homology with SEQ ID NO: 1. See alignment below. The only difference in sequence between SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 17 is a three amino acid deletion. No substitutions or other alterations of the amino acid sequence providing functional variants of the proteins are taught. UniProtKB record A0A0J8FQU9_BETVV (first available online 10/14/2015) teaches a putative Peptidase S54 rhomboid domain-containing protein in Beta vulgaris with 53.3% sequence similarity to instant SEQ ID NO: 17. See second alignment below. However, this naturally found sequence known in the art is not within the scope of the claimed functional variants comprising SEQ ID NO: 17. Thus, the specification does not describe species over the full scope of claimed proteins nor describe genetically modified plants comprising resistance genes over the full scope of the claims.
PNG
media_image1.png
80
369
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Score
Expect
Method
Identities
Positives
Gaps
416 bits(1070)
1e-155
Compositional matrix adjust.
207/210(99%)
207/210(98%)
3/210(1%)
Query 1 MEAVFWIILLNFVIYGAEHLGRVEEIRTLYLIHDRPAWYQFVTSAFCHYNWNHLCNNLFF 60
MEA IILLNFVIYGAEHLGRVEEIRTLYLIHDRPAWYQFVTSAFCHYNWNHLCNNLFF
Sbjct 1 MEA---IILLNFVIYGAEHLGRVEEIRTLYLIHDRPAWYQFVTSAFCHYNWNHLCNNLFF 57
Query 61 LYIFGKLVEEEVGGFYLWYYYILTAVGSNLVSWSLLPRSGSSAGASGAVFGLFAISFSVK 120
LYIFGKLVEEEVGGFYLWYYYILTAVGSNLVSWSLLPRSGSSAGASGAVFGLFAISFSVK
Sbjct 58 LYIFGKLVEEEVGGFYLWYYYILTAVGSNLVSWSLLPRSGSSAGASGAVFGLFAISFSVK 117
Query 121 LLLRDRCPDNKEDWRRFLEVIILGHFVLQRMMEALHGSNAMVNANGVIDPALVPWVNHIA 180
LLLRDRCPDNKEDWRRFLEVIILGHFVLQRMMEALHGSNAMVNANGVIDPALVPWVNHIA
Sbjct 118 LLLRDRCPDNKEDWRRFLEVIILGHFVLQRMMEALHGSNAMVNANGVIDPALVPWVNHIA 177
Query 181 HLAGAVVGMSLVIIPHDIRRRLSVNNCLPP 210
HLAGAVVGMSLVIIPHDIRRRLSVNNCLPP
Sbjct 178 HLAGAVVGMSLVIIPHDIRRRLSVNNCLPP 207
A0A0J8FQU9_BETVV
ID A0A0J8FQU9_BETVV Unreviewed; 307 AA.
AC A0A0J8FQU9;
DT 14-OCT-2015, integrated into UniProtKB/TrEMBL.
DT 14-OCT-2015, sequence version 1.
DT 02-APR-2025, entry version 34.
DE RecName: Full=Peptidase S54 rhomboid domain-containing protein {ECO:0000259|Pfam:PF01694};
GN ORFNames=BVRB_2g031850 {ECO:0000313|EMBL:KMT18156.1};
OS Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris (Beet).
OC Eukaryota; Viridiplantae; Streptophyta; Embryophyta; Tracheophyta;
OC Spermatophyta; Magnoliopsida; eudicotyledons; Gunneridae; Pentapetalae;
OC Caryophyllales; Chenopodiaceae; Betoideae; Beta.
OX NCBI_TaxID=3555 {ECO:0000313|EMBL:KMT18156.1, ECO:0000313|Proteomes:UP000035740};
RN [1] {ECO:0000313|EMBL:KMT18156.1, ECO:0000313|Proteomes:UP000035740}
RP NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [LARGE SCALE GENOMIC DNA].
RC TISSUE=Taproot {ECO:0000313|EMBL:KMT18156.1};
RX PubMed=24352233; DOI=10.1038/nature12817;
RA Dohm J.C., Minoche A.E., Holtgrawe D., Capella-Gutierrez S., Zakrzewski F.,
RA Tafer H., Rupp O., Sorensen T.R., Stracke R., Reinhardt R., Goesmann A.,
RA Kraft T., Schulz B., Stadler P.F., Schmidt T., Gabaldon T., Lehrach H.,
RA Weisshaar B., Himmelbauer H.;
RT "The genome of the recently domesticated crop plant sugar beet (Beta
RT vulgaris).";
RL Nature 505:546-549(2014).
CC -!- SUBCELLULAR LOCATION: Membrane {ECO:0000256|ARBA:ARBA00004141}; Multi-
CC pass membrane protein {ECO:0000256|ARBA:ARBA00004141}.
CC -!- SIMILARITY: Belongs to the peptidase S54 family.
CC {ECO:0000256|ARBA:ARBA00009045}.
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DR EMBL; KQ090038; KMT18156.1; -; Genomic_DNA.
DR RefSeq; XP_010667877.1; XM_010669575.1.
DR AlphaFoldDB; A0A0J8FQU9; -.
DR EnsemblPlants; KMT18156; KMT18156; BVRB_2g031850.
DR Gramene; KMT18156; KMT18156; BVRB_2g031850.
DR KEGG; bvg:104884871; -.
DR eggNOG; ENOG502QTDP; Eukaryota.
DR OMA; ATFCHAD; -.
DR OrthoDB; 418595at2759; -.
DR Proteomes; UP000035740; Chromosome 2.
DR GO; GO:0016020; C:membrane; IEA:UniProtKB-SubCell.
DR GO; GO:0004252; F:serine-type endopeptidase activity; IEA:InterPro.
DR FunFam; 1.20.1540.10:FF:000013; Rhomboid protease aarA; 1.
DR Gene3D; 1.20.1540.10; Rhomboid-like; 1.
DR InterPro; IPR022764; Peptidase_S54_rhomboid_dom.
DR InterPro; IPR035952; Rhomboid-like_sf.
DR PANTHER; PTHR43066:SF5; RHOMBOID-LIKE PROTEIN 11, CHLOROPLASTIC-RELATED; 1.
DR PANTHER; PTHR43066; RHOMBOID-RELATED PROTEIN; 1.
DR Pfam; PF01694; Rhomboid; 1.
DR SUPFAM; SSF144091; Rhomboid-like; 1.
PE 3: Inferred from homology;
KW Membrane {ECO:0000256|ARBA:ARBA00023136, ECO:0000256|SAM:Phobius};
KW Reference proteome {ECO:0000313|Proteomes:UP000035740};
KW Transmembrane {ECO:0000256|ARBA:ARBA00022692, ECO:0000256|SAM:Phobius};
KW Transmembrane helix {ECO:0000256|ARBA:ARBA00022989,
KW ECO:0000256|SAM:Phobius}.
FT TRANSMEM 102..119
FT /note="Helical"
FT /evidence="ECO:0000256|SAM:Phobius"
FT TRANSMEM 139..165
FT /note="Helical"
FT /evidence="ECO:0000256|SAM:Phobius"
FT TRANSMEM 177..197
FT /note="Helical"
FT /evidence="ECO:0000256|SAM:Phobius"
FT TRANSMEM 203..221
FT /note="Helical"
FT /evidence="ECO:0000256|SAM:Phobius"
FT DOMAIN 139..288
FT /note="Peptidase S54 rhomboid"
FT /evidence="ECO:0000259|Pfam:PF01694"
SQ SEQUENCE 307 AA; 34477 MW; C8AE86D8F341FFC2 CRC64;
Query Match 53.3%; Score 599.5; Length 307;
Best Local Similarity 60.4%;
Matches 116; Conservative 26; Mismatches 39; Indels 11; Gaps 2;
Qy 1 MEAVFWIILLNFVIYGAEHLGRVEEIRTLYLIHDRPAWYQFVTSAFCHYNWNHLCNNLFF 60
: ||||||||| || |:|| | :|: ||| |::||||||||:|||| ||||| :||||
Db 103 VNAVFWIILLNLAIYAADHLFLVRDIKFLYLFHNQPAWYQFVTAAFCHANWNHLSSNLFF 162
Qy 61 LYIFGKLVEEEVGGFYLWYYYILTAVGSNLVSWSLLPRSGSSAGASGAVFGLFAISFSVK 120
||||||||||| | | ||: |||| |:||||| :|||: | ||||||||||||| ||
Db 163 LYIFGKLVEEEEGSFALWFSYILTGAGANLVSWLVLPRNAVSVGASGAVFGLFAISVLVK 222
Qy 121 LLLRDRCPDNKEDWRRFLEVIILGHFVLQRMMEALHGSNAMVNANGVIDPALVPWVNHIA 180
: : |||: |||:||| ||::::||| | : :|| | : |||||
Db 223 MSM---------DWRKILEVLILGQFVIEKVMEAAQASTGL--SNGFIGTNSLQSVNHIA 271
Qy 181 HLAGAVVGMSLV 192
||:||:||: ||
Db 272 HLSGALVGVLLV 283
Nematode resistance genes are known in the art. Kumar et al (2021) New Phytologist. 231: 801–813 (published 4/18/2021 after the effective filing date of the instant application and therefore not representing the understanding in the art at the time of filing), hereafter Kumar, teaches the Hs4 protein as a rhomboid protease. Kumar teaches discloses homologous proteases, but without reported function in plant-pathogen interaction (page 806, paragraph 4). Kumar teaches that Hs4 has an insertion of 9 amino acids at position 103 and an insertion of 2 amino acids at position 147 relative to homologs (page 806, paragraph 4). These positions as shown in Kumar figure S8 have been bolded in the alignment above.
Rhomboid proteases are known in the art to have a catalytic core domain of six transmembrane segments with conserved motifs (Ha et al (2013) The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 288(22):15430-15436 (published 5/31/2013), figure 1). Rhomboid proteases require a Ser-His dyad for catalysis (page 15430, right column, paragraph 3). Rhomboid proteases undergo conformational changes in order to bind substrates (page 15432, left column, paragraph 2). Importantly, rhomboid proteases are specific to their substrates (page 15434, left column, paragraph 1), and different rhomboid proteases may recognize different features of their substrate to determine specificity (page 15434, right column, paragraph 3).
The specification describes the proteins of SEQ ID NOs: 1 and 17 as rhomboid-like proteases that are predicted to be bound to the endoplasmic reticulum of plant cells (page 6, paragraph 1). The specification further states that the Hs4 protein does not require cofactors for activity (page 6, paragraph 1). No further structure or relationship between structure and function in resistance to parasitic nematodes is provided. The specification fails to make up for the lack of knowledge in the art regarding the structural features responsible for the activity against plant parasitic nematodes of the proteins of the instant invention and which, if any, substitutions may be permissible relative to SEQ ID NO: 17 while maintaining the required function.
The structural features that distinguish rhomboid protease resistance recombinant proteins conferring resistance against plant parasitic nematodes with 90% homology to 17 from other proteins with 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 17 not conferring resistance to plant parasitic nematodes are not described in the specification. Since the disclosure fails to describe the common structural attributes that identify members of the genus, SEQ ID NOs: 1 and 17 are insufficient to describe the claimed genus.
Hence, Applicant has not, in fact, described nucleic acids that encode a recombinant plant parasitic nematode resistance protein that is a rhomboid-like protease that is a functional variant with at least 90% homology to SEQ ID NO: 17 over the full scope of the claims, and the specification fails to provide an adequate written description of the claimed invention. Therefore, given the lack of written description in the specification with regard to the structural and functional characteristics of the claimed compositions, Applicant does not appear to have been in possession of the claimed genus at the time this application was filed.
Applicant urges that a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that the inventor had possession of the claimed subject matter, because claim 11 recites a functional variant with at least 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 17 which Applicant urges defines each functional variant as a full structure. Applicant urges that obvious mutations that do not lead to a loss of function would have been well known to a person of skill because 13 or 10 amino acids can be modified without losing rhomboid-like protease function and resistance against plant parasitic nematodes. Applicant urges that it would be an undue burden to Applicant to produce all obvious functional variants with all possible interchangeable amino acids. Given the general knowledge in the field, Applicant urges that a representative number of the claimed functional variants are described. Applicant urges that all sequences are defined and the MPEP accepts that the sequence defines a corresponding function (Remarks, page 5, paragraph 3-page 6, paragraph 6).
This argument is unpersuasive, because claim 11 and dependents require a functional variant with at least 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 17 that confers nematode resistance in a plant. This encompasses functional variants with 20 amino acid substitutions. The instant specification and the prior art have defined two sequences within that scope: instant SEQ ID NO: 1 & 17. These sequences differ by a three amino acid deletion near the N-terminal end of the protein; no sequences comprising amino acid substitutions nor a deletion at any other position are provided that have the required nematode resistance activity. Because no other protein variants with 90% identity to SEQ ID NO: 1 or 17 are known in the art, and because rhomboid-like proteases have specificity to their substrates, it would not be obvious that any 10 or 13 interchangeable amino acid could successfully be substituted to confer nematode resistance in a plant. Whether one of skill in the art could conduct an analysis to determine whether one of the encompassed sequences confers nematode resistance in a plant is a question of enablement not written description.
One of skill in the art might envision all possible sequences with 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 17, but which of those sequences confer nematode resistance in a plant would not have been obvious at the time of filing. Because only 90% of SEQ ID NO: 17 is required by the claims, the corresponding function of SEQ ID NO: 17 is not necessarily conserved.
In light of the specificity of rhomboid-like proteases, the lack of functional examples of such proteases conferring nematode resistance in plants with 90% identity to SEQ ID NO: 17, and the lack of description of which features of the claimed structures are necessary to provide the claimed activity of nematode resistance, one of ordinary skill in the art would not consider Applicant to have been in possession of the full scope of plants comprising the claimed recombinant genes with nematode resistance at the time of filing.
Scope of Enablement
Claims 11 & 15-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, because the specification, while being enabling for a plant comprising a gene encoding a protein comprising SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 17, does not reasonably provide enablement for any plant comprising a gene encoding a functional variant having 90% amino acid sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 17 over the full scope of the claims. The specification does not enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make the invention commensurate in scope with these claims.
Claims 11 & 15-19 require a plant comprising a recombinant resistance gene encoding a recombinant protein comprising SEQ ID NO: 1 or 17 or a functional variant of the recombinant protein comprising SEQ ID NO: 17 and having at least 90 or 95% overall sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 17, wherein the protein or functional variant is a rhomboid-like protease which confers resistance against plant parasitic nematodes.
The only examples of species of recombinant protein taught in the specification are SEQ ID NO: 1 (Hs4) and SEQ ID NO: 17 (Hs4_1) (page 3, paragraph 2), encoded by SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 2 (page 4, paragraph 2). SEQ ID NO: 17 as given on page 3 paragraph 2 has 98% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 1. See alignment below. The only difference in sequence between SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 17 is a three amino acid deletion. No substitutions or other alterations of the amino acid sequence providing functional variants of the proteins are taught. Thus, the specification does not teach species over the full scope of claimed proteins that confer resistance against plant parasitic nematodes nor teach genetically modified plants with resistance against parasitic nematodes comprising resistance genes over the full scope of the claims.
PNG
media_image1.png
80
369
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Score
Expect
Method
Identities
Positives
Gaps
416 bits(1070)
1e-155
Compositional matrix adjust.
207/210(99%)
207/210(98%)
3/210(1%)
Query 1 MEAVFWIILLNFVIYGAEHLGRVEEIRTLYLIHDRPAWYQFVTSAFCHYNWNHLCNNLFF 60
MEA IILLNFVIYGAEHLGRVEEIRTLYLIHDRPAWYQFVTSAFCHYNWNHLCNNLFF
Sbjct 1 MEA---IILLNFVIYGAEHLGRVEEIRTLYLIHDRPAWYQFVTSAFCHYNWNHLCNNLFF 57
Query 61 LYIFGKLVEEEVGGFYLWYYYILTAVGSNLVSWSLLPRSGSSAGASGAVFGLFAISFSVK 120
LYIFGKLVEEEVGGFYLWYYYILTAVGSNLVSWSLLPRSGSSAGASGAVFGLFAISFSVK
Sbjct 58 LYIFGKLVEEEVGGFYLWYYYILTAVGSNLVSWSLLPRSGSSAGASGAVFGLFAISFSVK 117
Query 121 LLLRDRCPDNKEDWRRFLEVIILGHFVLQRMMEALHGSNAMVNANGVIDPALVPWVNHIA 180
LLLRDRCPDNKEDWRRFLEVIILGHFVLQRMMEALHGSNAMVNANGVIDPALVPWVNHIA
Sbjct 118 LLLRDRCPDNKEDWRRFLEVIILGHFVLQRMMEALHGSNAMVNANGVIDPALVPWVNHIA 177
Query 181 HLAGAVVGMSLVIIPHDIRRRLSVNNCLPP 210
HLAGAVVGMSLVIIPHDIRRRLSVNNCLPP
Sbjct 178 HLAGAVVGMSLVIIPHDIRRRLSVNNCLPP 207
Nematode resistance genes are known in the art. Kumar et al (2021) New Phytologist. 231: 801–813 (published 4/18/2021 after the effective filing date of the instant application and therefore not representing the understanding in the art at the time of filing. Provided with supplementary material appended.), hereafter Kumar, teaches the Hs4 protein as a rhomboid protease. Kumar teaches discloses homologous proteases, but without reported function in plant-pathogen interaction (page 806, paragraph 4). Kumar teaches that Hs4 has an insertion of 9 amino acids at position 103 and an insertion of 2 amino acids at position 147 relative to homologs (page 806, paragraph 4). These positions as shown in Kumar figure S8 have been bolded in the alignment above.
Rhomboid proteases are known in the art to have a catalytic core domain of six transmembrane segments with conserved motifs (Ha et al (2013) The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 288(22):15430-15436 (published 5/31/2013), figure 1). Rhomboid proteases require a Ser-His dyad for catalysis (page 15430, right column, paragraph 3). Rhomboid proteases undergo conformational changes in order to bind substrates (page 15432, left column, paragraph 2). Importantly, rhomboid proteases are specific to their substrates (page 15434, left column, paragraph 1), and different rhomboid proteases may recognize different features of their substrate to determine specificity (page 15434, right column, paragraph 3).
The specification describes the proteins of SEQ ID NOs: 1 and 17 as rhomboid-like proteases that are predicted to be bound to the endoplasmic reticulum of plant cells (page 6, paragraph 1). The specification further states that the Hs4 protein does not require cofactors for activity (page 6, paragraph 1). No further structure or relationship between structure and function in resistance to parasitic nematodes is provided. The specification does not teach the structural features responsible for the activity against plant parasitic nematodes of the proteins of the instant invention and which, if any, substitutions may be permissible relative to SEQ ID NO: 17 while maintaining the required function.
Given the specificity of rhomboid proteases for their targets, the lack of direction regarding the necessary structural features to provide parasitic nematode resistance, and the lack of examples of proteins similar to instant SEQ ID NO: 17 in the instant specification or the prior art, one of ordinary skill in the art would be required to conduct undue experimentation to generate and test plants comprising genes encoding rhomboid proteases over the full scope of the claimed functional variants to determine which, if any, confer resistance against plant parasitic nematodes.
Thus, the instant specification does not reasonably enable one of ordinary skill to make a plant comprising a recombinant resistance gene encoding a rhomboid-like protease that confers nematode resistance over the full scope of the claimed functional variants, and claims 11 & 15-19 are not enabled over the full scope.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Victoria L DeLeo whose telephone number is (703)756-5998. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:30am-5pm EST; F 7:30am-12pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Shubo (Joe) Zhou can be reached at (571) 272-0724. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/VICTORIA L DELEO/Examiner, Art Unit 1662
/Anne Kubelik/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1662