Patents Examined by Yong Pak
  • Patent number: 8236551
    Abstract: The present application provides genetically modified fungal organisms that produce enzyme mixtures exhibiting enhanced hydrolysis of cellulosic material to glucose, enzyme mixtures produced by the genetically modified fungal organisms, and processes for producing glucose from cellulose using such enzyme mixtures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Codexis, Inc.
    Inventors: Ish Kumar Dhawan, Dipnath Baidyaroy, Andrew Shaw, Oleh Tanchak, Christopher Hill, Chengsong Liu, Amala Chokshi, Brian R. Scott
  • Patent number: 8227215
    Abstract: Provided are hydrolases, including lipases, saturases, palmitases and/or stearatases, and polynucleotides encoding them, and methods of making and using these polynucleotides and polypeptides. Further provided are polypeptides, e.g., enzymes, having a hydrolase activity, e.g., lipases, saturases, palmitases and/or stearatases and methods for preparing low saturate or low trans fat oils, such as low saturate or low trans fat animal or vegetable oils, e.g., soy or canola oils.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2012
    Assignee: Bunge Oils, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher L. G. Dayton, Tim Hitchman, Katie Kline, Jonathan Lyon, Mark A. Wall, Nelson R. Barton
  • Patent number: 8222017
    Abstract: Methods for the evolution of NADPH binding ketol-acid reductoisomerase enzymes to acquire NADH binding functionality are provided. Specific mutant ketol-acid reductoisomerase enzymes isolated from Pseudomonas that have undergone co-factor switching to bind NADH are described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2012
    Assignee: Butamax(TM) Advanced Biofuels LLC
    Inventors: Yougen Li, Der-Ing Liao, Mark J. Nelson, Daniel P. Okeefe, Jean-Francois Tomb
  • Patent number: 8216811
    Abstract: Described herein are novel nucleic acids, proteins and methods that can be used to provide new catalysts with desirable traits for industrial processes. In particular, novel reductases isolated from the environment using PCR methods are described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2012
    Assignee: Danisco US Inc.
    Inventors: Mark Donnelly, William H. Eschenfeldt, Jonathan Trent
  • Patent number: 8216815
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to methods of producing fatty alcohols from recombinant host cells comprising genes encoding heterologous fatty acyl-CoA reductase (FAR) enzymes. The disclosure further relates to FAR enzymes and functional fragments thereof derived from marine bacterium and particularly marine gamma proteobacterium such as Marinobacter and Oceanobacter; polynucleotides encoding the FAR enzymes and vectors and host cells comprising the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2012
    Assignee: Codexis, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert McDaniel, Behnaz Behrouzian, Louis Clark, Douglas Hattendorf, Fernando Valle
  • Patent number: 8206970
    Abstract: Methods for the fermentive production of four carbon alcohols are provided. Specifically, butanol, preferably 2-butanol is produced by the fermentive growth of a recombinant bacteria expressing a 2-butanol biosynthetic pathway. The recombinant microorganisms and methods of the invention can also be adapted to produce 2-butanone, an intermediate in the 2-butanol biosynthetic pathways disclosed herein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2012
    Assignee: Butamax(TM) Advanced Biofuels LLC
    Inventors: Andrew C. Eliot, Vasantha Nagarajan, Lixuan Lisa Huang
  • Patent number: 8198064
    Abstract: The invention relates to mutant strains of the genus Sphingomonas which have a mutation in at least one gene encoding a protein involved in polyhydroxybutyrate (“PHB”) synthesis that allows the mutant strains to produce PHB-deficient sphingans. The invention is also directed to a process for preparing a clarified sphingan solution comprising heating aqueous sphingan solution, in particular PHB-deficient sphingan solution, to a clarification temperature of about 30° C. to about 70° C., and treating the solution with a clarification agent and enzymes. In addition, the invention is directed to a food or industrial product comprising a PHB-deficient and/or clarified sphingan. One particular embodiment of the invention is directed to a clarified, PHB-deficient high-acyl gellan and the processes of making thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2012
    Assignee: CP Kelco U.S., Inc.
    Inventors: Stan Bower, Ellen Burke, Nancy E. Harding, Yamini N. Patel, J. Carrie Schneider, Dagmar Meissner, Neil A. Morrison, Ralph Bezanson
  • Patent number: 8173402
    Abstract: The present invention relates to novel yeast strains, methods and genetic constructs for their preparation, and their use for the synthesis or modification of steroidal compounds. More particularly, the invention describes strains having a reduced 20?HSD type activity, in particular by modifying the GCY1 and/or YPR1 genes. The yeast strains of the invention make it possible to improve the efficiency of the synthesis or to increase the selectivity or the yields of the method, as well as the quality of the final product. The strains, methods and compounds of the invention are useful in the search for, the development and the production of products with therapeutic or prophylactic activity, in humans or animals, in particular of steroidal derivatives.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: Aventis Pharma S.A.
    Inventors: Bruno Dumas, Gilles Cauet, Eric Degryse, Tilman Achstetter
  • Patent number: 8158402
    Abstract: A high-yield bacterial strain for producing acetoin named Bacillus pumilus XH195 has been deposited in a microorganism deposit center in Germany. The deposit number is DSM 16187. The bacteria of the strain are rod-shaped, 1.5 ?m to 3.0 ?m in length, and 0.6 ?m to 0.7 ?m in diameter. The colony color of the bacterial strain is yellow or white. The strain has the typical fatty acid profile of Bacillus and its physiological and biochemical characteristics align with those of Bacillus pumilus. When the bacteria of strain were cultured at 37° C. for 60 hours with shaking, the yield of acetoin could reach 63.0 g/L or 58.1 g/L, when glucose or sucrose was used as the substrate, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2012
    Assignee: Shanghai Apple Flavor & Fragrance Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ping Xu, Zijun Xiao, Yi Du, Zhonghao Wei
  • Patent number: 8153391
    Abstract: Provided are hydrolases, including lipases, saturases, palmitases and/or stearatases, and polynucleotides encoding them, and methods of making and using these polynucleotides and polypeptides. Further provided are polypeptides, e.g., enzymes, having a hydrolase activity, e.g., lipases, saturases, palmitases and/or stearatases and methods for preparing low saturate or low trans fat oils, such as low saturate or low trans fat animal or vegetable oils, e.g., soy or canola oils.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2012
    Assignee: Bunge Oils, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher L. G. Dayton, Tim Hitchman, Katie Kline, Jonathan Lyon, Mark A. Wall, Nelson R. Barton
  • Patent number: 8148100
    Abstract: The present invention comprises a method for assaying oxygenase activity the method comprising monitoring oxygenase activity of Mina53.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2012
    Assignee: ISIS Innovation Limited
    Inventors: Christopher Joseph Schofield, Michael Arnold McDonough, Nicolas Joseph Jean Granatino
  • Patent number: 8137950
    Abstract: A lactic acid bacterium (LAB) wherein an YjaE protein is essentially inactive and the LAB thereby get improved resistance to bacteriophages, a starter culture composition comprising the lactic acid bacterium and use of this starter culture manufacturing a food or feed product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: Chr. Hansen A/S
    Inventors: Birgitte Stuer-Lauridsen, Thomas Janzen
  • Patent number: 8137940
    Abstract: The present invention relates to microorganisms genetically engineered to increase yield and/or efficiency of biomass production from a carbon source, such as e.g. glucose. Processes for generating such microorganisms are also provided by the present invention. The invention also relates to polynucleotide sequences comprising genes that encode proteins that are involved in the bioconversion of a carbon source such as e.g. glucose into biomass. The invention also features polynucleotides comprising the full-length polynucleotide sequences of the novel genes and fragments thereof, the novel polypeptides encoded by the polynucleotides and fragments thereof, as well as their functional equivalents. Also included are processes of using the polynucleotides and modified polynucleotide sequences to transform host microorganisms leading to a microorganism with reduced carbon source diversion, i.e. higher yield and/or efficiency of biomass production from a carbon source such as e.g. glucose.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: DSM IP Assets B.V.
    Inventor: Masako Shinjoh
  • Patent number: 8137952
    Abstract: The present invention relates to the Lactobacillus genus that have the ability to survive in high temperature environments. These thermostable microorganisms have the ability to produce viable antibacterial agents in different food products after heat 5 treatment. The thermostable microorganisms of the Lactobacillus genus may be included in food products that demand high temperature. A further object of the present invention is the ability of a food product comprising the thermostable microorganisms of the Lactobacillus genus for promoting immunotolerance in autoimmune diseases such as coeliac disease. Furthermore, two novel strains of lactobacillus 10 genus are disclosed, Lactobacillus plantarum LB3e and Lactobacillus plantarum LB7c deposited at Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zeelkulturen, which have been assigned accession number 17852 and 17853 respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: Probac AB
    Inventors: Eva Grahn Håkansson, Jennie Ekbeck
  • Patent number: 8137925
    Abstract: The invention provides compositions and methods of use thereof for labeling peptide and proteins in vitro or in vivo. The methods described herein employ lipoic acid ligase or mutants thereof, and lipoic acid analogs recognized by lipoic acid ligase and lipoic acid ligase mutants.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Alice Y. Ting, Marta Fernandez Suarez, Hemanta Baruah
  • Patent number: 8133710
    Abstract: The invention describes novel pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment of virus infections and cancer. The pharmaceutical compositions include mutant oligoadenylate synthetases (OAS) that have either enhanced cell permeability, reduced oxidative potential, improved antiviral activity, improved enzymatic activity, or absent enzymatic activity. The pharmaceutical compositions have improved drug properties and retain or have enhanced antiviral activity relative to their native forms. The pharmaceutical compositions further include chemically modified oligoadenylate synthetases, such chemical modifications being designed to increase serum stability and reduce immunogenicity in vivo. Such chemical modifications further increase drug stability and manufacturability in vitro. Compositions composed of more than ninety novel modifications are described. Also described are antibodies to polypeptides of the invention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2012
    Assignee: Kineta Two, LLC
    Inventors: Shawn P Iadonato, Charles L Magness, Mark Branum, Maralee McVean, Christina Scherer
  • Patent number: 8133713
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a new compound useful as a modulator of melanocortin receptors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2012
    Assignee: Astellas Pharma Inc.
    Inventors: Takanao Otsuka, Hirotsugu Ueda, Keiko Fujie, Hideyuki Muramatsu, Michizane Hashimoto, Shigehiro Takase
  • Patent number: 8133711
    Abstract: The present invention provides BGL7 polypeptides with the biological activity of a ?-glucosidase and a method of producing a recombinant enzyme having ?-glucosidase activity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2012
    Assignee: Danisco US Inc.
    Inventors: Nigel Dunn-Coleman, Michael Ward
  • Patent number: 8129162
    Abstract: Methods for the evolution of NADPH binding ketol-acid reductoisomerase enzymes to acquire NADH binding functionality are provided. Specific mutant ketol-acid reductoisomerase enzymes isolated from Pseudomonas that have undergone co-factor switching to bind NADH are described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2012
    Assignee: Butamax(TM) Advanced Biofuels LLC
    Inventors: Yougen Li, Der-Ing Liao, Mark J. Nelson, Daniel P. Okeefe
  • Patent number: 8119383
    Abstract: A thermostable glycosidase enzymes derived from various Thermococcus, Staphylothermus and Pyrococcus organisms is disclosed. The enzymes are produced from native or recombinant host cells and can be utilized in the food processing industry, pharmaceutical industry and in the textile industry, detergent industry and in the baking industry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2012
    Assignee: BP Corporation North America Inc.
    Inventors: Edward J. Bylina, Ronald Swanson, Eric Mathur, David E. Lam