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 .
Priority
This application 19/192,626 is a Continuation of 17/952598 filed 26 September 2022 which is a continuation of application 17/528298 filed 17 November which is a continuation of application 17/180131 filed 19 February 2021 which claims priority to Provisional application 62/979138 filed 20 February 2020.
Status of the Claims
The status of the claims filed 6 February 2025 is as follows:
Claims 1-7 are pending.
Claims 1-7 have been hereby examined.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Larkindale et al. (2004. Thermotolerance and antioxidant systems in Agrostis stolonifera: Involvement of salicylic acid, abscisic acid, calcium, hydrogen peroxide, and ethylene. Journal of plant Physiology. 405-412), Polko et al (2019. 1-Aminocyclopropane 1-Carboxylic Acid and its Emerging Role as an Ethylene-Independent Growth Regulator. Frontiers in Plant Science. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2019.01602/full#B55. Pages 1-9) and Nascimento et al. (2002. Ethylene evolution and endo-β-Mannanase activity during lettuce seed germination at high temperature. Sci Agric. 61: 156-163)
The claims are broadly draw to a method of improving heat stress tolerance in lettuce plants comprising applying an effective amount of 1-amino-1-cyclopropanecarboxylic acid (ACC) to the lettuce plant wherein the effective amount is from about 1 to about 1000 parts per million or about 10 to 100 parts per million and wherein the application is a foliar spray and wherein the application is during the rosette stage of the lettuce development.
Larkindale et al teach inducing thermotolerance (i.e. increase heat stress tolerance) by foliar application of 1-aminocyclopropant-1-carboxylic acid (ACC, a precursor of ethylene) [entire document; abstract; page 406, col. 2, Table]. Larkindale et al further teach that previous work has shown that pre-treating plants in certain endogenous signaling compounds can induce thermotolerance including ethylene (the end product of the ACC pathway) [page 406, left col., para. 3].
Larkindale et al teach that plants were allowed to grow for one month in a greenhouse and sprayed with ACC (which reads on wherein the ACC is applied to the plant) [page 406, rt. col. paras. 3-4]. Larkindale et al teach plants were given chemical pre-treatments by spraying the foliage prior to exposure to high temperature [page 406, rt. col., para. 4]. Larkindale et al found that pre-treatment with ACC improved heat stress [page 410, rt. col., para. 2; Figs 1(c)-6(c)]. Larkindale et al teach that the enhanced thermotolerance may be associated, at least in part, with the control and/or prevention of oxidative damage [page 412, lf. col., para. 4]. Larkindale et al teach that oxidative protection is an important component in determining the survival of a plant during heat stress. Larkindale et al found that the leaves of treated plants remained greener and the shoot density was higher than untreated control plants during heat stress [page 411, left col., para. 1]. Larkindale et al also found that heat-induced oxidative damage was reduced in plants pre-treated with ACC [page 411, rt. col., para 1].
Although Larkindale et al do not specifically teach wherein the plant is a lettuce plant, Larkindale et al teach that what had been known in the art regarding heat stress is that heat induced injury to plants is associated with increases in oxidative damage in plants including perennial grasses and “other plant species.” Even though the primary reference doesn’t explicitly state what those other plant species are, it does refer to other references including studies including at least Nicotiana tabacum and Arabidopsis [page 406, left col., para. 1]. Thus, based on the literature, as taught by the primary ref, it is reasonable to conclude that the association of oxidative damage to plant with heat stress is not just seen in one single plant, not even just one type of plants, but rather both monocots (e.g. perennial grasses), and dicots (e.g. Arabidopsis and tobacco plants).
Larkindale et al do not specifically teach wherein the effective amount is from about 11 to about 1,000 parts per million or about 10 to about parts per million.
Polko et al teach the 1-aminocyclopropane 1-carboxylic acid (ACC) is the direct precursor of the plant hormone ethylene and that exogenous ACC application has been used as a proxy for ethylene in numerous studies as it is readily converted by nearly all plant tissues to ethylene [Abstract]. Polko et al teach that ethylene regulates a wide range of developmental processes and responses to biotic and abiotic stress [page 1, para. 1]. Polko et al teach ethylene is involved in various stress-related responses such as wounding, pathogen infection, neighbor proximity, elevated temperatures, drought, soil waterlogging and submergence [page 4, left col., para. 1]. Polko et al also teach that recent studies suggest that the signaling role of ACC could extend beyond the plant kingdom since many plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) possess ACC deaminase genes and utilize ACC as a source of nitrogen [page 6, left col., para. 2]. Polko et al teach that an increasing number of studies have established that ACC acts as a signaling molecule beyond it function in ethylene biosynthesis and appear to be involved in regulating multiple processes, including stress responses, cell expansion, cell wall function, stomal development, pathogen interactions and fertilization-related events [page 6, right col., para. 1].
Nascimento et al found that providing ACC either during lettuce seed priming or during germination increased endo-β-mannanase activity and increased germination rates at 35ºC [entire document]. Ethyene has been reported to regulate synthesis of cel wall enzymes and endo-β-mannanase is involved in weakening of the lettuce endosperm cell walls at high temperatures [page 160, left col., para. 3]. In thermotolerant lettuce varieties, an increase in endo-β-mannanase was detected prior to radicle protrusion in comparison to thermosensitive lettuce varieties and resulted in 100% germination [page 160, para. Bridging left and right cols.].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the methodologies of Larkindale et al with another plant such as lettuce. Polko et al teach that exogenous ACC application has been using in numerous studies using a myriad of plant and non-plant species and found that it regulates (via ethylene) a wide range of responses including elevated temperatures stresses. Nascimento et al showed that ACC elicited heat stress tolerance with lettuce. Nascimento et al showed in an increased germination rate at high temperatures with lettuce seeds primed with ACC. Larkindale et al teach inducing thermotolerance (i.e. increase heat stress tolerance) by foliar application of 1-aminocyclopropant-1-carboxylic acid. It would have also been obvious to apply ACC to the lettuce at the rosette stage because Larkindale et al teach foliar application of ACC to induce thermotolerance and this is the growth stage at which the leaves are fully exposed prior to curling and head formation. One would have been motivated to include lettuce with the methodologies of Larkindale et al because Polko et al teach that ACC is readily converted by nearly all plant tissues to ethylene and that ethylene is involved in various stress-related responses including elevated temperatures. Furthermore, Nascimento et al found that lettuce seeds respond directly to ACC under heat stresses resulting in increased germination rates. One would have been further motivated to employ the methodologies of Larkindale with lettuce plants given that lettuce is an agriculturally and economically important crop plant. One would have had a reasonable expectation of success given the success of Larkindale, the teachings that ACC (via ethylene) is widely known to mediate stress-related responses including elevated temperatures in nearly all plant tissues as taught by Polko et al and the fact that ACC elicited a heat stress response in lettuce seeds to increase germination at elevated temperatures. Furthermore, Polko et al showed that utility of ACC and ethylene in a wide range of plant species and non-plant species.
Although the reference does not specifically teach wherein the effective amount is from about 1 to about 1,000 or 10 to about 100 parts per million, one skilled in the art at the time the filing was made would have been motivated to use such a concentration as a matter of routine optimization and experimentation. The adjustment of particular conventional working parameters such as concentration is deemed to be merely a matter of selection and routine optimization that is well within the purview of the skilled artisan. Accordingly, this type of modification would have been no more than an effort to optimize results. In the absence of any showing of criticality or unexpected results, the particular concentration is an obvious variation of what was taught in the prior art and could be arrived at during routine experimentation/optimization.
Furthermore, differences in concentration or temperature will not support the patentability of subject matter encompassed by the prior art unless there is evidence indicating such concentration or temperature is critical (see MPEP 2144.05).
Conclusion
No claim is allowable.
Examiner’s Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KAREN M REDDEN whose telephone number is (571)270-0298. The examiner can normally be reached 730-6 Monday-Thursday.
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/KAREN M REDDEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1661