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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 1/31/2026 has been entered.
Status of Claims
Receipt of Arguments/Remarks filed on 1/31/2026 is acknowledged. Claim 1 was amended. Claim 5 was canceled. Claims 1 and 2 are pending.
Withdrawn Rejections
The rejections of claim 5 under 35 U.S.C. § 112(a) and 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) are withdrawn, as claim 5 has been canceled.
The rejection of claims 1, 2, and 5 under 35 U.S.C. § 101 is withdrawn given amendments to the claims to recite active method steps that cannot be completed mentally.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and are 2 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by te Poele et al., US 10,731,195 B2.
Regarding claim 1, te Poele teaches an enzyme activity assay for measuring transglycosylation activity of glucansucrase enzymes (te Poele col. 13 lines 31-55). According to the instant specification, p. 4, the term "dextransucrase” refers to an enzyme that exhibits transglycosylation activity capable of transferring glucose to stevia, polyphenol, etc. after releasing glucose from sugar, when glucose acceptors, such as stevia (steviol glycoside), exist in a substrate. Dextransucrase is a type of glucansucrase.
te Poele teaches that the glucansucrases have the ability to glucosylate (or transfer glucose to) a steviol glycoside, Rebaudioside A (te Poele col. 3 lines 43-50). The instant specification states that “stevia” is equivalent to “steviol glycoside” and therefore the steviol glycoside taught by te Poele is considered to be “stevia” (see instant specification pp. 3-4).
te Poele teaches (i) reacting sugar (sucrose) with a glucansucrase, which has transglycosylation activity for stevia (steviol glycoside) as discussed above; and (ii) reacting a mixture of sugar (sucrose) and Rebaudioside A (which is a steviol glycoside, or stevia) with a glucansucrase; i.e. performing assays with sucrose, with and without Rebaudioside A (te Poele col. 13 lines 30-35).
te Poele teaches (iii) determining, or measuring, the amount of free glucose released in step (i), and determining, or measuring, the amount of free glucose released in step (ii) (te Poele col. 13 lines 45-48).
te Poele teaches determining the amount of glucose and fructose release from sucrose (i.e. measuring the amount of free glucose), wherein fructose release corresponds with total enzyme activity, and glucose release corresponds with hydrolytic activity (te Poele col. 13 lines 45-55). In the instant specification, p. 5, steps (i) and (ii) are described as determining “the amount of free glucose resulting from hydrolysis”. This is taught by te Poele, wherein glucose release corresponding to hydrolytic activity is measured (te Poele col. 13 lines 45-50). te Poele teaches that transglycosylation activity is measured by subtracting hydrolytic activity (free glucose measurement) from total activity. Therefore, if the hydrolytic activity is lower as determined in step (ii) (i.e. less free glucose) this would indicate higher transglycosylation activity, indicating that the enzyme has transglycosylation activity for stevia.
Regarding claim 2, te Poele teaches that enzyme assays are performed with (step ii) and without (step i) the steviol glycoside, Rebaudioside A, and these steps could be performed either sequentially or simultaneously (te Poele col. 13 lines 30-35).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 1/31/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that not all dextransucrase enzymes exhibit the same reaction on all substrates, and the premise of the present invention is to assay dextransucrases for their activity with respect to stevia, and as now amended, claim 1 recites a method of assaying a dextransucrase having transglycosylation activity for stevia, which is not taught by te Poele.
In response to this argument, as discussed in the above rejection, “dextransucrase” and “stevia” are defined in the instant specification, pp. 3-4, as follows:
As used herein, the term "dextransucrase", which is a kind of enzyme secreted from microorganisms, refers to an enzyme that produces polysaccharides, such as dextrans or oligosaccharides which are polymeric materials, by releasing glucose from sugar, and at the same time, by catalyzing a polymer polymerization reaction of glucose, or that exhibits transglycosylation activity capable of transferring glucose to stevia, polyphenol, etc. after releasing glucose from sugar, when glucose acceptors, such as stevia (steviol glycoside), polyphenol, etc., exist in a substrate.
As used herein, the term "stevia" refers to a sweet-tasting compound found in
the leaves of stevia (Stevia rebaudiana), which is a plant belonging to the family
Asteraceae, native to South America. Stevia is often used as a sweetener as a sugar substitute because it is not metabolized in the human body and does not induce a
blood sugar response. The stevia is also called steviol glycoside.
Based on these definitions, “dextransucrase” as used herein refers to a general type of enzyme which has transglycosylation activity. The glucansucrases taught by te Poele have this activity, as discussed above. “Stevia” as used herein refers to a sweet-tasting compound in the stevia plant, and the term is interchangeable with steviol glycoside. Therefore, the steviol glycoside (Rebaudioside A) taught by te Poele, which is a naturally sweet compound derived from the stevia plant (see te Poele col. 1 lines 29-38) is considered to be “stevia” as defined herein. Therefore, the glucansucrase of te Poele reads on the instant claims, as discussed above.
Applicant argues that according to the examples of the present invention, the dextransucrase derived from Leuconostoc mesenteroides ATCC 13146 exhibits low transglycosylation activity and high polysaccharide polymerization activity, and the dextransucrase derived Lactobacillus mali DSM 20444 exhibits high transglycosylation activity and low polysaccharide polymerization activity, indicating that dextransucrases have different activity, and the presently recited assay of dextransucrases for transglycosylation of stevia was not previously known in the art.
In response to applicant's argument discussing examples of dextransucrases derived from Leuconostoc mesenteroides ATCC 13146 or Lactobacillus mali DSM 20444, it is noted that these enzymes are not recited in the rejected claims. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). The claims are directed to a general dextransucrase with transglycosylation activity for stevia. Based on the use of the terms “dextransucrase” and “stevia” in the instant application as set forth above, te Poele teaches a dextransucrase which has transglycosylation activity for stevia.
Applicant argues that te Poele discloses that measuring both fructose release and glucose release is required, and the skilled person would not have had any reason or
motivation to consider a method of assaying a dextransucrase without measuring fructose. Applicant argues that te Poele does not teach the claimed method which only requires measuring glucose of reacting steps (i) and (ii).
In response to this argument, it is noted that the present claims utilize the transitional phrase “comprising”. The transitional term "comprising", which is synonymous with "including," "containing," or "characterized by," is inclusive or open-ended and does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps (see MPEP § 2111.03). Therefore, the claims are not limited to a method of measuring only glucose, and do not exclude the measurement of fructose as a method step. te Poele teaches measuring free glucose obtained from the reaction of sucrose and the glucansucrase, as discussed above. Therefore, the method of te Poele reads on the claimed method, which requires measuring free glucose.
Conclusion
Claims 1 and 2 are rejected. No claims are allowed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EMILY F EIX whose telephone number is (571)270-0808. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm ET.
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/EMILY F EIX/Examiner, Art Unit 1653
/SHARMILA G LANDAU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1653
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