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 .
Priority
This application 18/002,767 filed on 12/21/2022 is a national phase application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 that claims priority to International Application No. PCT/US21/39954 field on 06/30/2021, and claims priority of provisional application 63/046,493 filed on 06/30/2020.
Restriction/Election
Applicant's election with traverse of the examination of Group I, drawn to a method for inhibiting infection of or reducing replication of a virus in an animal in need thereof. Applicant further elects SEQ ID NO: 10 for Species I, and SEQ ID NO: 1 for Species II. in the reply filed on 10/22/2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that Group I is basically the same as Group II, and any prior art searched for one group is applicable to the other group. Hence, there would not be a serious search and/or examination burden. Moreover, each of the paired sequences is designed to attack White spot syndrome virus (WSSV), therefore the paired sequences have the same function. This is not found persuasive because as documented on pages 4-7 of the restriction/Election mailed on 07/23/2025, Group I and II lack unity of invention because even though the inventions of these groups require the technical feature of "a sequence encoding at least one programmable nuclease configured to bind one or more genes of a virus from the family Nimaviridae, wherein said one or more genes of said virus encodes-ICP11 or a fragment thereof, VP19 or a fragment thereof, VP26 or a fragment thereof, collagen like protein (WSSV-CLP) or a fragment thereof, or any combination thereof, this technical feature is not a special technical feature as it does not make a contribution over the prior art in view of Sullivan et al. (2019) (Sullivan et al., Rapid, CRISPR-Based, Field-Deployable Detection Of White Spot Syndrome Virus In Shrimp, Sci Rep 2019 Dec 23;9(1):19702. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-56170-y] and Shih (2004) (Shih, Neutralization of White Spot Syndrome Virus by Monoclonal Antibodies against Viral Envelope Proteins, Taiwania, 49(3): 159-165, 2004), which has been documented on pages 4-7 of Restriction/Election mailed on 07/23/2025. As a related issue, Possible Rejoinder has been documented on pages 9-10 of Restriction/Election mailed on 07/23/2025.
Moreover, as documented below in this Non-Final Office Action, claims 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 14, 17, 20, 23, and 31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sullivan et al. (2019) (Sullivan et al., Rapid, CRISPR-Based, Field-Deployable Detection Of White Spot Syndrome Virus In Shrimp, Sci Rep 2019 Dec 23;9(1):19702. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-56170-y) in view of Van Hulten et al. (van Hulten et al., The white spot syndrome virus DNA genome sequence, Virology, 2001 Jul 20;286(1):7-22. doi: 10.1006/viro.2001.1002).
Claims 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 14, 17, 20, 23, 31, 33, 34, 36, 37, 40, 42, 43, 46, 49, and 51 are pending.
Claims 33, 34, 36, 37, 40, 42, 43, 46, 49, and 51 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 10/22/2025.
Claims 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 14, 17, 20, 23, 31 are currently under examination to the extent of elected species SEQ ID NO: 10 and SEQ ID NO: 1.
SEQ ID NO: 1 is listed in Table 1 of instant application as “Virus Sequence Targeted” GGTACAACTGGATTTGGGGG
SEQ ID NO: 10 is listed in Table 1 of instant application as “Targeting sequence (reverse
complement of virus sequence)” CCCCCCAAATCCAGTTGTACC
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Sequence Compliance
Amended claims 14 and 43 filed on 03/23/2023 recite SEQ ID Nos:10-18 and SEQ ID Nos:83-143; amended claim 10 recites SEQ ID NOs: 1-9 and SEQ ID NOs: 22-82; and amended claim 40 filed on 03/23/2023 recites SEQ ID NOs: 1-9 and SEQ ID NOs: 22-70. However, no sequence listing as part of the disclosure and no CRF have been filed of the record.
In the response filed by Applicants on 10/22/2025, the issues of sequence compliance were not addressed. Accordingly, instant applicant fails to be in compliance with the requirement stated below.
REQUIREMENTS FOR PATENT APPLICATIONS CONTAINING NUCLEOTIDE AND/OR AMINO ACID SEQUENCE DISCLOSURES
Items 1) and 2) provide general guidance related to requirements for sequence disclosures.
37 CFR 1.821(c) requires that patent applications which contain disclosures of nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences that fall within the definitions of 37 CFR 1.821(a) must contain a "Sequence Listing," as a separate part of the disclosure, which presents the nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences and associated information using the symbols and format in accordance with the requirements of 37 CFR 1.821 - 1.825. This "Sequence Listing" part of the disclosure may be submitted:
In accordance with 37 CFR 1.821(c)(1) via the USPTO patent electronic filing system (see Section I.1 of the Legal Framework for Patent Electronic System (https://www.uspto.gov/PatentLegalFramework), hereinafter "Legal Framework") as an ASCII text file, together with an incorporation-by-reference of the material in the ASCII text file in a separate paragraph of the specification as required by 37 CFR 1.823(b)(1) identifying:
the name of the ASCII text file;
ii) the date of creation; and
iii) the size of the ASCII text file in bytes;
In accordance with 37 CFR 1.821(c)(1) on read-only optical disc(s) as permitted by 37 CFR 1.52(e)(1)(ii), labeled according to 37 CFR 1.52(e)(5), with an incorporation-by-reference of the material in the ASCII text file according to 37 CFR 1.52(e)(8) and 37 CFR 1.823(b)(1) in a separate paragraph of the specification identifying:
the name of the ASCII text file;
the date of creation; and
the size of the ASCII text file in bytes;
In accordance with 37 CFR 1.821(c)(2) via the USPTO patent electronic filing system as a PDF file (not recommended); or
In accordance with 37 CFR 1.821(c)(3) on physical sheets of paper (not recommended).
When a “Sequence Listing” has been submitted as a PDF file as in 1(c) above (37 CFR 1.821(c)(2)) or on physical sheets of paper as in 1(d) above (37 CFR 1.821(c)(3)), 37 CFR 1.821(e)(1) requires a computer readable form (CRF) of the “Sequence Listing” in accordance with the requirements of 37 CFR 1.824.
If the "Sequence Listing" required by 37 CFR 1.821(c) is filed via the USPTO patent electronic filing system as a PDF, then 37 CFR 1.821(e)(1)(ii) or 1.821(e)(2)(ii) requires submission of a statement that the "Sequence Listing" content of the PDF copy and the CRF copy (the ASCII text file copy) are identical.
If the "Sequence Listing" required by 37 CFR 1.821(c) is filed on paper or read-only optical disc, then 37 CFR 1.821(e)(1)(ii) or 1.821(e)(2)(ii) requires submission of a statement that the "Sequence Listing" content of the paper or read-only optical disc copy and the CRF are identical.
Specific deficiencies and the required response to this Office Action are as follows:
Specific deficiency - This application fails to comply with the requirements of 37 CFR 1.821 - 1.825 because it does not contain a "Sequence Listing" as a separate part of the disclosure or a CRF of the “Sequence Listing.”.
Required response - Applicant must provide:
A "Sequence Listing" part of the disclosure; together with
An amendment specifically directing its entry into the application in accordance with 37 CFR 1.825(a)(2);
A statement that the "Sequence Listing" includes no new matter as required by 37 CFR 1.821(a)(4); and
A statement that indicates support for the amendment in the application, as filed, as required by 37 CFR 1.825(a)(3).
If the "Sequence Listing" part of the disclosure is submitted according to item 1) a) or b) above, Applicant must also provide:
A substitute specification in compliance with 37 CFR 1.52, 1.121(b)(3) and 1.125 inserting the required incorporation-by-reference paragraph, consisting of:
A copy of the previously-submitted specification, with deletions shown with strikethrough or brackets and insertions shown with underlining (marked-up version);
A copy of the amended specification without markings (clean version); and
A statement that the substitute specification contains no new matter.
If the "Sequence Listing" part of the disclosure is submitted according to item 1) c) or d) above, applicant must also provide:
A CRF in accordance with 37 CFR 1.821(e)(1) or 1.821(e)(2) as required by 1.825(a)(5); and
A statement according to item 2) a) or b) above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 10 reads as follows: The method of claim 1, wherein said nuclease is a programmable nuclease comprising at least one of a CRISPR-associated (Cas) polypeptide, a zinc finger nuclease (ZFN), a transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN), or a combination thereof. wherein said nuclease is configured to bind at least 5 consecutive nucleotides of at least one sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 1-9. SEQ ID NOs: 22-82 or a variant having at least 80%. 90%. 95%, or 99% identity thereto.
The phrase “a programmable nuclease” is indefinite because it is unclear in what sense and/or based on what criteria a nuclease is programmable. Accordingly, the metes and bounds of “a programmable nuclease” cannot be determined. In this regard, a nuclease is a protein made of defined amino acid sequences with its intrinsic biochemical and biophysical characteristics determined by the amino acid sequences of the nuclease.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 14, 17, 20, 23, and 31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sullivan et al. (2019) (Sullivan et al., Rapid, CRISPR-Based, Field-Deployable Detection Of White Spot Syndrome Virus In Shrimp, Sci Rep 2019 Dec 23;9(1):19702. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-56170-y) in view of Van Hulten et al. (van Hulten et al., The white spot syndrome virus DNA genome sequence, Virology, 2001 Jul 20;286(1):7-22. doi: 10.1006/viro.2001.1002).
Regarding claims 1, 2, 17, 20, 23, and 31, Sullivan et al. teaches that “we adapt the CRISPR-based SHERLOCK (Sensitive High Efficiency Reporter unLOCKing) method to develop a rapid, accurate, single copy detection assay for White Spot Syndrome Virus, the most devastating virus impacting global shrimp aquaculture” (see Abstract and Figure 1).
Sullivan et al. further teaches the following statements: (i) “Development of the SHERLOCK method for detection of WSSV. All publicly available whole genome sequences for WSSV strains were downloaded as Fasta files (.fas) from GenBank (https://www.ncbi. nlm.nih.gov/genbank/). These sequences included accession numbers: MG264599.1, KT995470.1, AF332093.1, KR083866.1, KT995471.1, KT995472.1, AF440570.1, JX515788.1, KX686117.1, MG702567.1.”; (ii) “Each forward primer contained a T7 transcription site located directly upstream to allow for generation of RNA from DNA copies. We designed 3-4 pairs of primers surrounding each potential guide RNA region with a sequence length of ~100–150 bp total (Supplemental Table 1). To generate viral templates for testing, we synthesized the target regions spanned by the RPA primers, and added primer regions to the 5′ and 3′ ends to facilitate production of high copy amounts. We also included a T7 transcription site upstream (5′) of the target sequence to allow for generating RNA as necessary (Supplemental Table 1). All gene regions (for testing), guide RNA sequences and RPA primers were ordered as oligonucleotides from IDT (www.idtdna.com).”; and (iii) “CRISPR guide RNAs and viral template DNA were converted to RNA by a two-step process. In the first step, synthetic DNA copies were combined with T7 annealing primers, T4 ligase buffer, and water.” (See page 4 of Sullivan et al., 2019)
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Figure 1. Principles and Performance of our WSSV assay. (a) Schematic representation of the SHERLOCK method for nucleic acid detection. (b) SHERLOCK assay 10-fold standard curve from 10 to 100,000 copies for the detection of synthetic WSSV viral template. Copy number was Log10 transformed. Equation for line of best fit was: y = 830117 × −268875, R2 = 0.988. Error bars denote standard deviation. BSF indicates background subtracted fluorescence. (c) Limit of detection analysis for the SHERLOCK assay using a diluted positive shrimp P19sample. Reaction input ranges from 20 ng of DNA to 2 ag of DNA translating to 10,600,000 to 0.001 copies per reaction. NS = not significant, *p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 based on comparisons to no input control from ANOVA and Tukey’s post-hoc results. Error bars denote standard deviation. BSF indicates background subtracted fluorescence. (d) Results of quantification of copy number for WSSV infected white shrimp with both qPCR and SHERLOCK assays indicated a strong correlation: r = 0.93 which was significant (p = 1.4e-15). (e) Specificity tests evaluating detection of WSSV with other common white shrimp diseases including TSV, Vibrio spp. causing AHPND, EHP, IHHNV, IMNV, as well as SPF shrimp. Numbers next to each name indicate the number of samples tested. Error bars denote standard deviation. BSF indicates background subtracted fluorescence.
Sullivan et al does not explicitly teach (i) the limitation “viral genes encode ICP11 or a fragment thereof, VP19 or a fragment thereof, VP26 or a fragment thereof, collagen like protein (WSSV-CLP) or a fragment thereof, or any combination thereof” recited in claim 1, and (ii) the limitations recited in claims 7, 8, 10 and 14.
Regarding (i) and (ii) recited in claims 1, 7, 8, 10 and 14, Van Hulten et al. (2001) teaches that “White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is at present a major scourge to worldwide shrimp cultivation. We have determined the entire sequence of the double-stranded, circular DNA genome of WSSV, which contains 292,967 nucleotides encompassing 184 major open reading frames (ORFs). Only 6% of the WSSV ORFs have putative homologues in databases, mainly representing genes encoding enzymes for nucleotide metabolism, DNA replication, and protein modification. The remaining ORFs are mostly unassigned, except for five, which encode structural virion proteins. Unique features of WSSV are the presence of a very long ORF of 18,234 nucleotides, with unknown function, a collagen-like ORF, and nine regions, dispersed along the genome, each containing a variable number of 250-bp tandem repeats. The collective information on WSSV and the phylogenetic analysis on the viral DNA polymerase suggest that WSSV differs profoundly from all presently known viruses and that it is a representative of a new virus family” (See Abstract).
Van Hulten et al. (2001) teaches “Gene expression. The complete WSSV genome sequence was searched for transcriptional and translational motifs. Seventy-two percent of the ORFs selected have an ATG in a favorable Kozak context. From the 27 ORFs located in the hrs, only 4 have an ATG in a favorable Kozak context. Furthermore, these ORFs have a small size (average of 89 aa). A TATA box sequence was found in the promoter regions of 46% of the WSSV ORFs. Early transcribed genes, like the ribonucleotide reductase large and small subunit homologues (52), contain a TATA box, which is also the case for other potential early transcribed genes like the thymidine-thymidylate (ORF171; Table 1) and dUTPase (ORF73; Table 1) homologue. From the structural proteins which have been identified by N-terminal sequencing (VP28 and VP26: 57; VP24: 59; VP19 and VP15: unpublished results), only VP15
and VP19 contain a TATA box sequence, indicating that this sequence is not essential in WSSV for efficient transcription of these putative late genes. No putative late promoter elements have been identified in WSSV yet. The late promoter element “RTAAG,” canonical in baculoviruses, was not found in putative WSSV ORF promoter regions and occurs at an average frequency in
the WSSV genome sequence. Consensus poly(A) signal sequences are found located in or after the termination codon for 54% of the ORFs, indicating that the WSSV transcripts of these WSSV genes are most probably polyadenylated (See left column, page 15).
Van Hulten et al. (2001) teaches “Comparison of the WSSV genome with other virus
families. WSSV resembles baculoviruses in overall genome structure based on the large circular DNA genome and presence of hrs. Baculoviruses share about 50% of their genes, which separates WSSV from baculoviruses, as for WSSV only 6% of its genes have a viral or cellular
homologue in GenBank. Furthermore, no specific similarity with other viruses was observed based on gene content. The genes for RR1, RR2, TK, TMK, and PK were used in phylogenetic analysis to compare the position of WSSV relative to other viruses (53, 55, 58). Here, we
report the analysis of WSSV DNA polymerase, an enzyme that is the prototype for phylogenetic analysis (See right column, page 19).
Van Hulten et al. (2001) teaches “Phylogeny of DNA polymerase. The putative DNA polymerase gene (ORF27) was used in an alignment with 14 other viral and 2 eukaryotic polymerases. All seven conserved DNA polymerase sequence motifs and the three
conserved regions implicated in DNA polymerase 39 ± 59 exonuclease activity were identified. Phylogenetic analysis was performed by using the region containing the conserved DNA polymerase motifs. Maximum parsimony phylogenetic trees were obtained by using PAUP, followed by 100 bootstrap replicates to determine the 50% majority-rule consensus tree. Typically for maximum parsimony, bootstrap values of $70% correspond to a probability of $95% that the respective clade is a historical lineage (See right column, page 19).
Van Hulten et al. (2001) teaches “WSSV DNA isolation, cloning, and sequence determination. The WSSV DNA was sequenced to a sixfold genomic coverage by using a shotgun approach essentially as described by Chen et al. (12) for baculovirus
Helicoverpa armigera NPV. The viral DNA was purified as described in Van Hulten et al. (59) and sheared by nebulization into fragments with an average size of 1200 bp. Blunt repair of the ends was performed with Pfu DNA polymerase (Stratagene) according to the manufacturer's
directions. DNA fragments were size-fractionated by gel electrophoresis and cloned into the dephosphorylated EcoRV site of pBluescriptSK (Stratagene, s cloning vector). After transformation into XL2 blue competent cells (Stratagene), 1510 recombinant colonies were picked randomly. DNA templates for sequencing were isolated by using QIAprep Turbo kits (Qiagen) on a QIAGEN BioRobot 9600. Sequencing was performed by using the ABI PRISM Big Dye Terminator Cycle Sequencing Ready reaction kit with FS AmpliTaq DNA polymerase (Perkin±Elmer) andanalyzed on an ABI 3700 DNA Analyzer” (See right column, page 20).
Van Hulten et al. (2001) further teaches “Nucleotide sequence accession number. The WSSV genome sequence has been deposited in GenBank under Accession No. AF369029 (See left column, page 20).
SEQ ID NO: 1 search (Query)
White spot syndrome virus, complete genome
Sequence ID: AF369029.2 Length: 292967Number of Matches: 1
Range 1: 35602 to 35621GenBankGraphics
Alignment statistics for match #1
Score
Expect
Identities
Gaps
Strand
40.1 bits(20)
1.6
20/20(100%)
0/20(0%)
Plus/Minus
Query 1 GGTACAACTGGATTTGGGGG 20
||||||||||||||||||||
Sbjct 35621 GGTACAACTGGATTTGGGGG 35602
SEQ ID NO: 10 search (Query)
White spot syndrome virus, complete genome
Sequence ID: AF369029.2 Length: 292967Number of Matches: 1
Range 1: 35602 to 35621GenBankGraphics
Alignment statistics for match #1
Score
Expect
Identities
Gaps
Strand
40.1 bits(20)
1.6
20/20(100%)
0/20(0%)
Plus/Plus
Query 2 CCCCCAAATCCAGTTGTACC 21
||||||||||||||||||||
Sbjct 35602 CCCCCAAATCCAGTTGTACC 35621
White spot syndrome virus, complete genome
GenBank: AF369029.2
FASTA Graphics
Go to:
LOCUS AF369029 292967 bp DNA circular VRL 25-APR-2005
DEFINITION White spot syndrome virus, complete genome.
ACCESSION AF369029 AY864671
VERSION AF369029.2
KEYWORDS .
SOURCE White spot syndrome virus
ORGANISM White spot syndrome virus
Viruses; Viruses incertae sedis; Naldaviricetes; Naldaviricetes
incertae sedis; Nimaviridae; Whispovirus.
REFERENCE 1 (bases 1 to 292967)
AUTHORS van Hulten,M.C., Witteveldt,J., Peters,S., Kloosterboer,N.,
Tarchini,R., Fiers,M., Sandbrink,H., Lankhorst,R.K. and Vlak,J.M.
TITLE The white spot syndrome virus DNA genome sequence
JOURNAL Virology 286 (1), 7-22 (2001)
PUBMED 11448154
REFERENCE 2 (bases 1 to 292967)
AUTHORS Marks,H., van Duijse,J.J., Zuidema,D., van Hulten,M.C. and
Vlak,J.M.
TITLE Fitness and virulence of an ancestral White Spot Syndrome Virus
isolate from shrimp
JOURNAL Virus Res. 110 (1-2), 9-20 (2005)
PUBMED 15845251
REFERENCE 3 (bases 1 to 292967)
AUTHORS van Hulten,M.C.W., Witteveldt,J., Peters,S., Kloosterboer,N.,
Tarchini,R., Fiers,M., Sandbrink,H., Lankhorst,R.K. and Vlak,J.M.
TITLE Direct Submission
JOURNAL Submitted (15-MAR-2001) Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen
University, Binnenhaven 11, Wageningen 6709 PD, The Netherlands
REFERENCE 4 (bases 1 to 292967)
AUTHORS Marks,H., van Duijse,J.J.A., Zuidema,D., van Hulten,M.C.W. and
Vlak,J.M.
TITLE Direct Submission
JOURNAL Submitted (25-DEC-2004) Virology, Wageningen University,
Binnenhaven 11, Wageningen, GLD 6709 PD, The Netherlands
REMARK Sequence update by submitter
COMMENT On Feb 10, 2005 this sequence version replaced AF369029.1.
FEATURES Location/Qualifiers
source 1..292967
/organism="White spot syndrome virus"
/mol_type="genomic DNA"
/isolate="WSSV-TH"
/db_xref="taxon:342409"
/geo_loc_name="Thailand"
gene 1..615
/gene="VP28"
/experiment="experimental evidence, no additional details
recorded"
/note="envelope protein"
CDS 1..615
/gene="VP28"
/note="envelope protein"
/codon_start=1
/product="ORF1, VP28, gene family 1"
/protein_id="AAK77670.1"
/translation="MDLSFTLSVVSAILAITAVIAVFIVIFRYHNTVTKTIETHTDNI
ETNMDENLRIPVTAEVGSGYFKMTDVSFDSDTLGKIKIRNGKSDAQMKEEDADLVITP
VEGRALEVTVGQNLTFEGTFKVWNNTSRKINITGMQMVPKINPSKAFVGSSNTSSFTP
VSIDEDEVGTFVCGTTFGAPIAATAGGNLFDMYVHVTYSGTETE"
It would have been prima facie obvious for a skilled artisan to incorporate the disclosure of “The white spot syndrome virus DNA genome sequence” taught by van Hulten et al. (2001) into the teachings of Sullivan et al. (2019) regarding “Rapid, CRISPR-Based, Field-Deployable Detection Of White Spot Syndrome Virus In Shrimp” to reach the claimed methods regarding “a method for inhibiting infection of or reducing replication of a virus in an animal in need thereof, comprising introducing to a cell of said animal a nuclease comprising a gene-binding moiety, wherein said gene binding moiety is configured to bind at least one or more genes of said virus, wherein said one or more genes of said virus encode ICP11 or a fragment thereof, VP19 or a fragment thereof, VP26 or a fragment thereof, collagen-like protein (WSSV-CLP) or a fragment thereof, or any combination thereof, wherein said virus belongs to the family Nimaviridae” as recited in instant claim 1 and its dependent claims 2, 7, 8, 10, 14, 17, 20, 23, and 31.
A skilled artisan would be motivated to combine the teachings van Hulten et al. (2001) with the teachings of Sullivan et al. (2019) with reasonable expectation of success because the two references are analogous arts in the same field of endeavor focusing on addressing “One of the greatest and most complex impediments to aquaculture production is the spread of infectious diseases which pose a significant threat to both capture fisheries and sustainable aquaculture” as disclosed by Sullivan et al. 2019 (See Abstract). In this regard, (i) Sullivan et al. (2019) teaches the development of a rapid, CRISPR-based, field-deployable detection of White Spot Syndrome Virus in Shrimp’ (See Title) whereas (ii) van Hulten et al. (2001) teaches “To further study the taxonomic position of WSSV and to allow a detailed understanding of the pathology of this virus in shrimp, we have determined the entire nucleotide sequence of the WSSV genome. Analysis of the 293-kbp circular genome revealed 184 open reading frames (ORFs) of 50 amino acids or more, an unusual long ORF (18 kbp), and 9 regions along the genome with tandem repeat sequences. Many of the predicted proteins have no homology with other viral or cellular genes and hitherto unknown properties” taught by van Hulten et al. 2001 (See left column, page 8).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Wu-Cheng Winston Shen whose telephone number is (571)272-3157. The examiner can normally be reached Mon.-Fri. 8:00 AM-5:00 PM.
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/WU CHENG W SHEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1682
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