Appeal No. 2004-2139
Application No. 09/181,601
acids in length and determining their three dimensional structure using X-ray
crystallography or NMR. The protein domain thus identified is compared with others in
a publicly-available Protein Data Bank (PDB) to determine whether the unknown protein
domain shares homology with any structures recorded therein. Algorithms suitable for
such matching studies are said to include the DALI analysis program, the CATH
analysis program, VAST analysis program, or similar algorithms for three dimensional
structure homology matching. Specification, pp. 24-25. The unknown protein domain
can then be analyzed to determine whether its biochemical function correlates with that
of a known homologous protein domain.
With respect to the term “high-throughput” the specification states that one skilled
in the art is currently able to determine the three dimensional structure of only one
protein per year. Specification, p. 26. According to the specification, the claimed
invention would “enable a properly equipped laboratory to generate the 3-D structure of
one protein per month per NMR machine.” Id. Thus, a “high-throughput” method is said
to refer “the ability to determine the 3-D structures of protein domains of unknown
function at a rate which is faster than the rate at which a skilled artisan could determine
a protein structure using traditional methodologies.” Id.
Discussion
As indicated above, the claims stand or fall with representative claim 1. Since
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