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 .
DETAILED ACTION
1. The Office acknowledges the receipt of Applicant’s amendment filed June 2, 2026. Claims 1 and 9- 21 are pending. Claims 13-21 are withdrawn from examination. Claims 1 and 9-12 are examined in the instant application.
All previous rejections not set forth below have been withdrawn.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
This action is made FINAL.
2. The Terminal Disclaimer filed June 2, 2026 has been approved.
3. SEQ ID NO:448 is first disclosed in PCT/EP2017/062182 filed May 19, 2017.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. Claims 1 and 9-12 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Evdokimov et al. (US Pub. No.20170037427, published 09 Feb 2017, (previously cited)) in view of Tranel et al. (US 20100100988 (Applicant’s IDS)) and in light of Patzoldt et al. (Published Applications Database, US20100100988, SEQ ID NO:14, published 22 April 2010 (Applicant’s IDS)).
Evdokimov teaches a recombinant chimeric nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a dual transit peptide operably linked to a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide comprising SEQ ID NO:1 having PPO activity for conferring tolerance to PPO-inhibiting herbicides ([0056], claim 1). SEQ ID NO:1 of Evdokimov was obtained from Enterobacter cloacae, a prokaryote, and has 100% sequence identity to Applicant’s SEQ ID NO:448. Evdokimov also teaches an expression cassette with an operably linked promoter, plant cell, plant and seed (claims).
Evdokimov does not teach Applicant’s dual transit peptide comprising SEQ ID NO:1.
Tranel teaches the dual transit peptide from Amaranthus having 100% sequence identity to Applicant’s SEQ ID NO:1. Specifically, Tranel teaches the PPO polypeptide from Amaranthus for conferring herbicide resistance, and its N-terminal region is a dual transit peptide targeting expression to both the chloroplast and mitochondrion [0070]. Tranel identified the region of the Amaranthus PPO sequence that is the dual transit peptide [0086], see positions 1-98 of SEQ ID NO:14 from Patzoldt (same publication) below.
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Tranel states, “The PPO gene of the present invention advantageously contains both chloroplast and mitochondrial transit peptides. Others known to the art can be substituted, if deemed advantageous.” [0070]. Thus, signal sequences and genes of interests may be heterologous to each other. Tranel further states:
“With regards to herbicide-resistance evolution, it remains to be determined if a herbicide-resistant PPX2 gene must contain dual-targeting sequences to provide resistance at the whole plant level. If this characteristic promotes resistance, it is believed that weeds containing a PPX2L gene would evolve resistance to PPO-inhibitors faster than those lacking a dual-targeted PPX2” [0087]
For clarification, PPX2 and PPX2L refer to structurally the same Amaranthus PPO sequence containing the dual transit peptide. Tranel postulated that a dual transit peptide operably linked to a PPO sequence confers whole plant level and faster-evolving PPO-inhibiting herbicide resistance than a PPO sequence lacking the dual transit peptide [0087].
It would have been prima facie obvious at the time of filing to substitute the generic dual transit peptide of Evdokimov with the Amaranthus dual transit peptide of Tranel having 100% sequence identity to Applicant’s SEQ ID NO:1 for directing the expression of the PPO sequence having SEQ ID NO:448 of Evdokimov to the mitochondria and/or chloroplast for the purpose of producing a PPO-herbicide resistant plant as taught by Evdokimov. Tranel teaches a dual transit peptide from Amaranthus having 100% sequence identity to Applicant’s dual transit peptide of SEQ ID NO:1 and the advantages of using said dual transit peptide: translocating the operably linked expressed PPO sequence to both chloroplast and mitochondrion to confer whole plant level and faster-evolving PPO-inhibiting herbicide resistance than those lacking the dual transit peptide. Evdokimov teaches a sequence having 100% sequence identity to Applicant’s SEQ ID NO:448 for conferring tolerance to PPO-inhibiting herbicides. Accordingly, one skilled in the art would have been motivated to produce the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success.
Conclusion
5. No claim is allowed.
6. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
7. Any inquiry concerning this communications from the Examiner should be directed to Phuong Bui, whose telephone number 571-272-0793.
If attempts to reach the Examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner's supervisor, Amjad Abraham, can be reached at 571-270-7058.
The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned, for sending official correspondence, is 571-273-8300.
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/PHUONG T BUI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1663
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