Appeal No. 1997-0878
Application 07/834,523
Claim 22 is representative of the subject matter on appeal and reads as follows:
22. A cell-free method of synthesizing a desired polypeptide, the method
comprising:
(a) adding, to a vessel comprising an ultrafiltration membrane barrier, a mixture
comprising: a eukaryotic cell extract capable of supporting in vitro translation, an
exogenous prokaryotic RNA-polymerase, ATP, GTP, CTP, UTP, amino acids, and a DNA
molecule comprising a gene encoding the desired polypeptide under the control of a
promoter specific to said exogenous RNA polymerase;
(b) continuously adding to the vessel the substrates ATP, GTP, CTP, UTP and
amino acids, at a rate that maintains their initial concentration in the vessel; and
(c) continuously removing from the vessel, through the ultrafiltration barrier, the
products of the process, including AMP, GDP, CDP, UDP, pyrophosphate, inorganic
phosphate, and the desired polypeptide.
The references relied upon by the examiner are:
Maniatis et al. (Maniatis), “Identification of cDNA Clones by Hybridization Selection,”
Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, pp. 345-49 (1982).
Krieg et al. (Krieg), “Functional messenger RNAs are produced by SP6 in vitro
transcription of cloned cDNAs,” Nucleic Acids Research, Vol. 12, No.18, pp. 7057-70
(1984).
Baranoy et al. (Baranoy), “Gene Expression in a cell-free system on the preparation scale,”
GENE, Vol. 84, pp. 463-66 (1989).
Claims 22 through 27, 31 and 32 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103. As
evidence of obviousness, the examiner relies upon Baranoy and Krieg. Claims 33 and 34
also stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103. As evidence of obviousness, the examiner
relies upon Baranoy, Krieg and Maniatis. We reverse.
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