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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of the invention of Group I, claims 1-5, and the species of a D360K mutant in the reply filed on 04/13/2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Status
The response of 04/13/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-9 are pending in this US patent application. Claims 6-9 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 04/13/2026.
Claims 1-5 are currently under examination and were examined on their merits.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements filed in this application on 03/18/2024 and 01/14/2026 have been received and considered.
Election/Restrictions
The closest prior art to Applicant’s elected species of the mannanase of SEQ ID NO: 1 with a D360K mutation is found in the teachings of Hamill, as discussed below. However, this reference does not teach or suggest replacing D360 with K or the improved thermostability of this variant as shown in Table 1 of the instant specification. As such, Applicant’s elected variant is free of the prior art. In light of this, the Examiner has selected another variant that falls within the scope of instant claim 1, the mannanase of SEQ ID NO: 1 with a D360G mutation, for examination. As a result of the Examiner’s selection, claims 4-5 are withdrawn from examination at this time.
Claims 1-3 are currently under examination and were examined on their merits.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Claim 3 recites the mannanase mutant of claim 1, wherein the mannanase mutant has particular percentages of sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 1, including 99.8% and 99.9% identity. The Examiner notes that claim 1, from which claim 3 depends, recites a mannanase of SEQ ID NO: 1 with at least one amino acid substitution. The mannanase of SEQ ID NO: 1 has 362 amino acids. A mannanase mutant in which 361 of the 362 amino acids are identical to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 would have 361/362% identity with SEQ ID NO: 1, or 99.72% identity. As such, it is not possible for a sequence to satisfy the limitations of claim 1 and also have 99.8% or 99.9% identity with SEQ ID NO: 1, as recited in instant claim 3. Accordingly, claim 3 recites limitations that do not further limit the claim from which it depends and is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d).
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US patent application publication 2016/0339078 filed by Hamill et al., published 11/24/2016.
Hamill teaches isolated nutritive polypeptides (see entire document, including paragraph 0005). SEQ ID NO: 4714 of Hamill comprises a sequence that has 99.7% identity with the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 and in which the amino acid corresponding to D360 in SEQ ID NO: 1 is mutated to glycine (see alignment copied below; reads on claims 1-3).
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Therefore, claims 1-3 are anticipated by Hamill and are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1).
Conclusion
No claims are allowed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Erin M. Bowers whose telephone number is (571)272-2897. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7:30-5:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sharmila Landau can be reached at (571)272-0614. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Erin M. Bowers/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1653 07/08/2026
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