DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
Application Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
2. Claims 1-15, 20-22, 24, and 26 are pending.
Priority
3. Acknowledgement is made of applicants’ claimed domestic priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/331,266, filed on 04/15/2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
4. The IDS filed on 01/16/2025 has been considered by the examiner and a copy of the Form PTO/SB/08 is attached to the office action.
Drawings
5. The Drawings filed on 01/16/2025 are acknowledged and accepted by the examiner.
Claim Objections
6. Claims 2, 4, and 14 are objected to in the recitation of “QPR”, which appears to be a typographical error, and in the interest of improving claim form, it is suggested that the term being amended to “OPR”.
7. Claims 3, 6-9, and 13 are objected to in the recitation of genus and species names, and in the interest of improving claim form, it is suggested that the terms be italicized.
8. Claim 24 is objected to in the recitation of “coITesponding”, and in the interest of improving claim form, it is suggested that the term be amended to recite “corresponding”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
9. 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
10. Claims 1, 4-5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) a recombinant host cell comprising a metabolic pathway producing jasmonic acid, wherein the host cell overexpresses a polypeptide having 12-oxophytodienoate reductase (OPR) activity relative to a corresponding parental host cell, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 90% identity to the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the recombinant host cell is not markedly different in structure than a Lasiodiplodia theobromae cell expressing OPR and producing jasmonic acid. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because Lasiodiplodia theobromae expresses an OPR enzyme having at least 90% identity to SEQ ID NO: 1 as evidenced by Uniprot A0A8H7MCS3 (2020; cited on IDS filed on 01/16/2025), and Ladiodiplodia theobromae naturally produces jasmonic acid [see Tsukada et al., Phytochemistry, 2010; cited on IDS filed on 01/16/2025]. The terms “recombinant” and “overexpresses” are not sufficient to transform the host cell into something markedly different because overexpression can broadly and reasonably be interpreted as the differences in expression levels depending on internal cellular signaling or as compared to any other cell. Additionally, recombination is a natural process that cells undergo, and therefore, the term “recombinant” is sufficiently broad to encompass any cell that undergoes recombination. For these reasons, claims 1, 4-5 and 6 are not patent eligible under 35 U.S.C. 101.
Conclusion
11. Status of the claims:
Claims 1-15, 20-22, 24, and 26 are pending.
Claims 1 and 4-6 are rejected.
Claims 2-4, 6-9, 13-14, and 24 are objected to.
Claims 10-12, 15, 20-22, and 26 are allowable.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL J HOLLAND whose telephone number is (571)270-3537. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday from 8AM to 5PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Manjunath Rao can be reached at 571-272-0939. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PAUL J HOLLAND/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1656
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