Appeal No. 2004-1967 Page 2
Application No. 09/027,439
“[I]nfection [with Shigella or enterohemorrhagic E. coli] is a serious public health
problem in the United States and [ ] physicians are required to report cases to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” Id., page 2. “Although the Centers for
Disease Control require distinguishing among the four major species of Shigella in its
reporting statistics, it is difficult to do so.” Id., page 4. Moreover, “[t]he genus Shigella is
a member of the family of Enterobacteriaceae and is thus related to Escherichia coli.
[Shigella and Escherichia] DNA relatedness is very high, they are often difficult to
differentiate biochemically, and they cross-react serologically.” Id., page 3.
“Distinguishing between Shigella and E. coli is important for treating [ ] infection.”
Id., page 4. The present invention is directed to “species-specific and genus-specific
and, therefore, species-identifying and genus-identifying, nucleotides of [16s ribosomal
RNA and 16s ribosomal DNA] from Shigella flexneri, Shigella sonnei, Shigella boydii,
and Shigella dysenteriae” (id., page 5), which can be used to “distinguish[ ] Shigella
from E. coli and species of Shigella from each other.” Id. SEQ ID NOS: 3, 4 , 5 and 6
represent the nucleotide sequences of 16s rDNA of S. flexneri, S. sonnei, S.
dysenteriae and S. boydii, respectively. Id., page 12. Finally, exemplary genus-specific
and species-specific probes are set forth in Table 3 of the specification.
THE CLAIMS1
Claims 55-58 are directed to nucleic acid probes which target individual species
of Shigella. According to the specification, probes are “synthetic or biologically
produced nucleic acids that . . . contain specific . . . sequences that allow them to
hybridize under defined predetermined stringencies, specifically and preferentially to
1 Following some discussion on the record, appellants and the examiner agreed
that the Appendix accompanying the Substitute Appeal Brief dated February 2, 2004
sets forth the correct claims on appeal.
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