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 .
Claims Status
Claims 1, 3-22, 25, and 27 are amended.
Claims 1-27 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/31/2025 is acknowledged. The submission is in compliance with the provision of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (claims 1-24) in the reply filed on 05/26/2026 is acknowledged.
Applicant’s election without traverse of:
A recombinant CbCTF1 acetoacetyl-CoA transferase gene (species a) having a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15 (species b) and comprising a POX4 fatty acid inducible promoter (species c) having a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 117 (species d);
A recombinant CbCTF2 acetoacetyl-CoA transferase gene (species a) having a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17 (species b) and comprising a PEX11 fatty acid inducible promoter (species c) having a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 118 (species d);
And a recombinant CbADC1 acetoacetate decarboxylase gene (species a) having a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 63 (species b) and comprising a POX 4 fatty acid inducible promoter (species c) having a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 117 (species d).
in the reply filed on 05/26/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 8-9, 13-14, 16, 18, and 24-27 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species/subject matter, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 05/26/2026.
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.
Claims 19-20 are 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.
With regards to claim 19, the claim recites “wherein each fatty acid inducible promoter….”. There is lack of antecedent basis for each fatty acid inducible promoter. In the interest of compact prosecution, the Examiner is interpreting the claim to be dependent on claim 12.
With regards to claim 20, the claim recites “wherein each fatty acid inducible promoter comprises a sequence at least 95% identical to any one of SEQ ID NOs: 117, 118, and 120”. There is lack of antecedent basis for each fatty acid. In the interest of compact prosecution, the Examiner is interpreting the claim to be dependent on claim 19.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 1-7, 10-12, 15, 17, and 19-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tamakawa et al. (Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Vol. 97, pg. 623-6239; published 2013), hereinafter referred to as Tamakawa.
With regards to claims 1, 3, 4, 6 and 21, Tamakawa discloses a genetically engineered strain of the yeast Candida utilis harboring genes encoding an acetoacetyl-CoA transferase (ACS1 and ACS2; see Figure 1, pg. 6235) and an acetoacetate decarboxylase (ADC, see Figure 1, pg. 6235) and a primary-secondary alcohol dehydrogenase (see Abstract, pg. 6231) that produces isopropanol (see Abstract).
With regards to claim 2, 5, and 7, Tamakawa discloses that the engineered yeast expresses an acetoacetyl-CoA transferase from Clostridium acetobutylicum (see pg. 6232, second column, last paragraph) which has 100% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 15 of the current instant application as evidenced by UniProt Database Entry: (CTFA_CLOAB; first entry February 1, 1994) (see sequence alignment below).
Query Match 100.0%; Score 1106; Length 218;
Best Local Similarity 100.0%;
Matches 218; Conservative 0; Mismatches 0; Indels 0; Gaps 0;
Qy 1 MNSKIIRFENLRSFFKDGMTIMIGGFLNCGTPTKLIDFLVNLNIKNLTIISNDTCYPNTG 60
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Db 1 MNSKIIRFENLRSFFKDGMTIMIGGFLNCGTPTKLIDFLVNLNIKNLTIISNDTCYPNTG 60
Qy 61 IGKLISNNQVKKLIASYIGSNPDTGKKLFNNELEVELSPQGTLVERIRAGGSGLGGVLTK 120
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Db 61 IGKLISNNQVKKLIASYIGSNPDTGKKLFNNELEVELSPQGTLVERIRAGGSGLGGVLTK 120
Qy 121 TGLGTLIEKGKKKISINGTEYLLELPLTADVALIKGSIVDEAGNTFYKGTTKNFNPYMAM 180
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Db 121 TGLGTLIEKGKKKISINGTEYLLELPLTADVALIKGSIVDEAGNTFYKGTTKNFNPYMAM 180
Qy 181 AAKTVIVEAENLVSCEKLEKEKAMTPGVLINYIVKEPA 218
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Db 181 AAKTVIVEAENLVSCEKLEKEKAMTPGVLINYIVKEPA 218
Tamakawa further discloses that the engineered yeast expresses an acetoacetate decarboxylase from Clostridium beijerinki (see pg. 6232, second column, last paragraph) that has 100% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 63 of the current instant application as evidenced by UniProt Database Entry: (ADC_CLOB8; first entry May 20, 2008) (see sequence alignment below).
Query Match 100.0%; Score 1286; Length 246;
Best Local Similarity 100.0%;
Matches 246; Conservative 0; Mismatches 0; Indels 0; Gaps 0;
Qy 1 MLESEVSKQITTPLAAPAFPRGPYRFHNREYLNIIYRTDLDALRKIVPEPLELDRAYVRF 60
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Db 1 MLESEVSKQITTPLAAPAFPRGPYRFHNREYLNIIYRTDLDALRKIVPEPLELDRAYVRF 60
Qy 61 EMMAMPDTTGLGSYTECGQAIPVKYNGVKGDYLHMMYLDNEPAIA VGRESSAYPKKLGYP 120
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Db 61 EMMAMPDTTGLGSYTECGQAIPVKYNGVKGDYLHMMYLDNEPAIA VGRESSAYPKKLGYP 120
Qy 121 KLFVDSDTLVGTLKYGTLPVATATMGYKHEPLDLKEAYAQIARPNFMLKIIQGYDGKPRI 180
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Db 121 KLFVDSDTLVGTLKYGTLPVATATMGYKHEPLDLKEAYAQIARPNFMLKIIQGYDGKPRI 180
Qy 181 CELICAENTDITIHGAWTGSARLQLFSHALAPLADLPVLEIVSASHILTDLTLGTPKVVH 240
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Db 181 CELICAENTDITIHGAWTGSARLQLFSHALAPLADLPVLEIVSASHILTDLTLGTPKVVH 240
Qy 241 DYLSVK 246
||||||
Db 241 DYLSVK 246
With regards to claims 10-11, Tamakawa discloses that the genetically engineered yeast harbors the recombinant genes (ACS1, ACS2, ADC) that contain the heterologous GAP promoter (see pg. 6233-6234).
Claims 12, 15, 17, 19, and 20 are included in the rejection based on the language (alternatives) of the claims “at least one of the one or more” and “one of the one or more”.
Therefore, claims 1-7, 10-12, 15, 17, and 19-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tamakawa et al. (Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Vol. 97, pg. 623-6239; published 2013), hereinafter referred to as Tamakawa.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 12, 15, 17, 19 and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamakawa et al. (Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Vol. 97, pg. 623-6239; published 2013), hereinafter referred to as Tamakawa as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Aeling et al. (US Patent Application Publication No.: US 2021/0079408 A1), hereinafter referred to as Aeling.
The teachings of Tamakawa as applied to claim 1 are summarized above.
With regards to claim 12, 15, 17, 19, 21, and 22, although Tamakawa teaches that the genetically engineered strain of the yeast Candida utilis yeast harbors the recombinant genes acetoacetyl-CoA transferase (ACS1 and ACS2; see Figure 1, pg. 6235) and an acetoacetate decarboxylase (ADC, see Figure 1, pg. 6235) and that the recombinant genes (ACS1, ACS2, ADC) contain the heterologous GAP promoter (see pg. 6233-6234), Tamakawa does not teach that the recombinant genes comprise a fatty acid inducible promoter or that the genetically modified yeast is Candida viswanathii.
However, Aeling discloses a genetically modified Candida ATCC 20962 which is a Candida viswanathii strain (as evidenced by ATTC product sheet; cited in PTO-892 form) (see paragraph 850) that is engineered to produce terpenes using fatty acids as a carbon source (see claims 163-165). Aeling teaches that the genes are under control of the fatty acid inducible promoter, POX4 and PEX11 (see Table 3). Aeling teaches that to provide optimal processing of the increased cytosolic acetate generated into cytosolic acetyl-CoA, the amount or activity of cytosolic acetyl-CoA synthetase can be increased in the modified host cell or microorganism. Aeling teaches that the copy number of nucleic acids encoding a cytosolic acetyl-CoA synthetase in the cell can be increased by using a heterologous strong and/or fatty acid inducible promoter (see paragraph 717). Aeling teaches that the cells were grown in a medium containing oleic acid as a fatty acid carbon source to initiate and maintain target molecule production (see paragraph 0078).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of protein engineering and expression to modify the genetically engineered yeast harboring the recombinant genes (ACS1, ACS2, ADC) that contain the heterologous GAP promoter taught by Tamakawa by using an alternate Candida strain (Candida viswanathii) as taught by Aeling and substituting the GAP promoter with the fatty acid promoters POX4 or PEX11 that can be induced in the presence of a fatty acid such as oleic acid as taught by Aeling. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to so by the teachings of Aeling who teach that the copy number of nucleic acids encoding the recombinant enzymes of interest in the host can be increased by using a heterologous fatty acid inducible promoter and thus would increase production of desired end product (isopropanol). One of ordinary skill in the art would have expectations of success in doing so from the combined teachings of Tamakawa and Aeling who provide all the necessary teachings, reagents, and methods needed to do so.
Therefore, claims 12, 15, 17, 19 and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamakawa et al. (Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Vol. 97, pg. 623-6239; published 2013), hereinafter referred to as Tamakawa as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Aeling et al. (US Patent Application Publication No.: US 2021/0079408 A1), hereinafter referred to as Aeling.
Claims 20 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamakawa et al. (Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Vol. 97, pg. 623-6239; published 2013), hereinafter referred to as Tamakawa, in view of Aeling et al. (US Patent Application Publication No.: US 2021/0079408 A1), hereinafter referred to as Aeling, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hutagalung et al. (WIPO International Publication Number WO 2020/060948 A1; published March 26, 2020), hereinafter referred to as Hutagalung.
The teachings of Tamakawa and Aeling as applied to claim 1 are summarized above.
With regards to claim 20, neither Tamakawa nor Aeling teach that the fatty acid inducible promoter independently comprises a sequence at least 95% identical to any one of SEQ ID NO: 117, 118, and 120.
However, Hutagalang teaches a plasmid map (pLD20) that has a POX4 promoter (residues 1042-1569) (see Figure 10 and plasmid map below).
PNG
media_image1.png
417
589
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Greyscale
Hutagalang teaches that pLD20 has a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 162 (see pg. 162). Based on the sequence alignment of SEQ ID NO: 117 of the current instant application and SEQ ID NO: 162 taught by Hutagalang, residues 1042-1569, corresponding to the POX4 promoter, shares 99.8 % sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 117 of the current instant application (see sequence alignment below).
Query Match 99.8%; Score 527; Length 6041;
Best Local Similarity 100.0%;
Matches 527; Conservative 0; Mismatches 0; Indels 0; Gaps 0;
Qy 1 GAGCTCCAATTGTAATATTTCGGGAGAAATATCGTTGGGGTAAAACAACAGAGAGAGAGA 60
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Db 1042 GAGCTCCAATTGTAATATTTCGGGAGAAATATCGTTGGGGTAAAACAACAGAGAGAGAGA 1101
Qy 61 GGGAGAGATGGTTCTGGTAGAATTATAATCTGGTTGTTGCAAATGCTACTGATCGACTCT 120
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Db 1102 GGGAGAGATGGTTCTGGTAGAATTATAATCTGGTTGTTGCAAATGCTACTGATCGACTCT 1161
Qy 121 GGCAATGTCTGTAGCTCGCTAGTTGTATGCAACTTAGGTGTTATGCATACACACGGTTAT 180
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Db 1162 GGCAATGTCTGTAGCTCGCTAGTTGTATGCAACTTAGGTGTTATGCATACACACGGTTAT 1221
Qy 181 TCGGTTGAATTGTGGAGTAAAAATTGTCTGAGTTGTGTCTTAGCTACTGGCTGGCCCCCC 240
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Db 1222 TCGGTTGAATTGTGGAGTAAAAATTGTCTGAGTTGTGTCTTAGCTACTGGCTGGCCCCCC 1281
Qy 241 GCGAAAGATAATCAAAATTACACTTGTGAATTTTTGCACACACACCGATTAACATTTCCC 300
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Db 1282 GCGAAAGATAATCAAAATTACACTTGTGAATTTTTGCACACACACCGATTAACATTTCCC 1341
Qy 301 TTTTTTGTCCACCGATACACGCTTGCCTCTTCTTATTTTCTCTGTGCTTCCCCCTCCTGT 360
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Db 1342 TTTTTTGTCCACCGATACACGCTTGCCTCTTCTTATTTTCTCTGTGCTTCCCCCTCCTGT 1401
Qy 361 GACTTTTTCCACCATTGATATAAAATCAACTCCATTTCCCTAAAATCTCCCCAGATTCTA 420
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Db 1402 GACTTTTTCCACCATTGATATAAAATCAACTCCATTTCCCTAAAATCTCCCCAGATTCTA 1461
Qy 421 AAAACAACTTCTTCTCTTCTGCTTTTCCTTATTTTTGTTATATTTATTTACCATCCCTTA 480
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Db 1462 AAAACAACTTCTTCTCTTCTGCTTTTCCTTATTTTTGTTATATTTATTTACCATCCCTTA 1521
Qy 481 TTTTGAATAGTTATTCCCCACTAACATTGTTCAAATCTTCACGACAT 527
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Db 1522 TTTTGAATAGTTATTCCCCACTAACATTGTTCAAATCTTCACGACAT 1568
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of protein engineering before the effective filing date to use the POX4 promoter sequence (corresponding to residues 1042-1569 of the pLD20 plasmid map) taught by Hutagalang as a fatty acid inducible promoter to control the expression of the recombinant genes in the genetically modified yeast taught by Tamakawa and Aeling. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so from the teachings of Hutagalang who teach a functional POX4 (inherent fatty-acid inducible) which can be used as a fatty acid inducible promoter to control gene expression. One of ordinary skill in the art would have expectations of success in doing so from the combined teachings of Tamakawa, Aeling, and Hutagalang who provide all the teachings, reagents, and methods needed to do so.
With regards to claim 23, neither Tamakawa nor Aeling specifically teach a recombinant yeast wherein the yeast is a Candida viswanathii and wherein the one or more recombinant genes comprise: a recombinant gene configured to express the acetoactetyl-CoA transferase and comprising a fatty acid inducible promoter, wherein the acetoacteyl-CoA transferase comprises a sequence of at least 95% sequence identity to any one of SEQ ID NOs: 15 and 17, wherein the fatty acid inducible promoter comprises a sequence at least 95% sequence identical to any one of SEQ ID NOs: 117, 118, and 120 and a recombinant gene configured to express the acetoacetate decarboxylase and comprising a fatty acid inducible promoter, wherein the acetoacetate decarboxylase comprises a sequence at least 95% identical to SEQ ID NO: 63, wherein the fatty acid inducible promoter comprises a sequence at least 95% identical to any one of SEQ ID NOs: 117, 118, and 120.
However, as summarized from the teachings of Tamakawa, Aeling, and Hutagaland, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill of the art of protein engineering before the effective filing date of the current instant application to arrive at such a recombinant yeast using the combined teachings of Tamakawa, Aeling, and Hutagalang.
As summarized above, Tamakawa provides the teachings for a genetically engineered strain of the yeast Candida utilis harboring genes encoding an acetoacetyl-CoA transferase (ACS1 and ACS2; see Figure 1, pg. 6235) and an acetoacetate decarboxylase (ADC, see Figure 1, pg. 6235) and a primary-secondary alcohol dehydrogenase (see Abstract, pg. 6231) that produces isopropanol. Tamakawa also teaches that the engineered yeast expresses an acetoacetyl-CoA transferase from Clostridium acetobutylicum (see pg. 6232, second column, last paragraph) which has 100% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 15 of the current instant application as evidenced by UniProt Database Entry: (CTFA_CLOAB; first entry February 1, 1994) and Tamakawa further teaches that the engineered yeast expresses an acetoacetate decarboxylase from Clostridium beijerinki (see pg. 6232, second column, last paragraph) that has 100% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 63 of the current instant application as evidenced by UniProt Database Entry: (ADC_CLOB8; first entry May 20, 2008). Tamakawa further teaches that the genetically engineered yeast harbors the recombinant genes (ACS1, ACS2, ADC) that contain the heterologous GAP promoter (see pg. 6233-6234). However, Tamakawa does not teach that the genes comprise a fatty acid inducible promoter comprising a sequence at least 95% identical to any one of SEQ ID NOs.117, 118, and 120 or that the yeast is Candida viswanathii.
As summarized in the teachings above, Aeling discloses a genetically modified Candida ATCC 20962 which is a Candida viswanathii strain (as evidenced by ATTC product sheet; cited in PTO-892 form) (see paragraph 850) that is engineered to produce terpenes using fatty acids as a carbon source (see claims 163-165). Aeling teaches that the genes are under control of the fatty acid inducible promoter, POX4 and PEX11 (see Table 3). Aeling teaches that to provide optimal processing of the increased cytosolic acetate generated into cytosolic acetyl-CoA, the amount or activity of cytosolic acetyl-CoA synthetase can be increased in the modified host cell or microorganism. Aeling teaches that the copy number of nucleic acids encoding a cytosolic acetyl-CoA synthetase in the cell can be increased by using a heterologous strong and/or fatty acid inducible promoter (see paragraph 717). However, Aeling does not teach that the fatty acid inducible promoter comprises a sequence at least 95% identical to any one of SEQ ID NOs. 117, 118 and 120.
However, Hutagalang teaches a plasmid map (pLD20) that has a POX4 Promoter (1042-1569). Hutagalang teaches that the pLD20 has a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 162 (see pg. 162). Based on the sequence alignment of SEQ ID NO: 117 of the current instant application and SEQ ID NO: 162 taught by Hutagalang, residues 1042-1569 corresponding to the POX4 promoter has 99.8 % sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 117 of the current instant application
One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious before the effective filing date of the current instant application to modify the genetically modified Candida utilis yeast that harbors the recombinant genes acetoacetyl-CoA transferase (ACS1 and ACS2; see Figure 1, pg. 6235) and an acetoacetate decarboxylase (ADC, see Figure 1, pg. 6235) and that contain the heterologous GAP promoter (see pg. 6233-6234) that produces isopropanol as taught by Tamakawa, by using an alternative yeast strain such as Candida viswanathii taught by Aeling, since Aeling teaches that the Candida viswanathii host expresses recombinant genes under the control of fatty acid inducible promtoers. It would have been further obvious to replace the GAP promoter taught by Tamakawa with a fatty acid inducible promoters, POX4 and PEX11, taught by Aeling since Aeling teaches that the use of fatty acid promoters such as POX4 and PEX11 can increase the copy number of nucleic acids expressing the recombinant enzymes of interest in the gene. It would have been further obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the fatty acid promoter POX4 (corresponding to residues 1042-1569 of the pLD20 plasmid map) taught by Hutagalang as a fatty acid inducible promoter in the genetically modified yeast taught by Hutagalang since Hutaglang teaches that the POX4 sequence is a functional fatty acid promoter. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated by the combined teachings of Tamakawa, Aeling, and Hutagalang to arrive at such a modified yeast that incorporates an optimized combination of recombinant enzymes and fatty acid inducible promoters to achieve the improved production of isopropanol. One of ordinary skill in the art would have expectations of success in doing so from the combined teachings of Tamakawa, Aeling, and Hutagalang who provide all the necessary teachings, reagents, and methods needed to do so.
Therefore, claims 20 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamakawa et al. (Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Vol. 97, pg. 623-6239; published 2013) in view of Aeling et al. (US Patent Application Publication No.: US 2021/0079408 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hutagalung et al. (WIPO International Publication Number WO 2020/060948 A1; published March 26, 2020).
Conclusion
No claims are allowed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GEORGE T LOUNTOS whose telephone number is (571)272-0502. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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/GEORGE THEMISTOCLIS LOUNTOS/ Examiner, Art Unit 1652
/ROBERT B MONDESI/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1652
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