The MIntAct Project and Molecular Interaction Databases.
Molecular interaction databases collect, organize, and enable the analysis of the increasing amounts of molecular interaction data being produced and published as we move towards a more complete understanding of the interactomes of key model organisms. The organization of these data in a structured format supports analyses such as the modeling of pairwise relationships between interactors into interaction networks and is a powerful tool for understanding the complex molecular machinery of the cell. This chapter gives an overview of the principal molecular interaction databases, in particular the IMEx databases, and their curation policies, use of standardized data formats and quality control rules. Special attention is given to the MIntAct project, in which IntAct and MINT joined forces to create a single resource to improve curation and software development efforts. This is exemplified as a model for the future of molecular interaction data collation and dissemination.
Department of Biology, University of Rome, Tor Vergata, Rome, 00133, Italy. luana.licata@uniroma2.it.
Luana
L
Licata
European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, CB10 1SD, UK.
Sandra
S
Orchard
D066289:Data Curation; D030562:Databases, Protein; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval; D020407:Internet; D023421:Models, Animal; D011485:Protein Binding; D025941:Protein Interaction Mapping; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D040901:Proteomics; D012984:Software; D014584:User-Computer Interface
D011506:Proteins
Bioinformatics; Controlled vocabulary; Databases; Manual curation; Molecular interaction standards; Molecular interactions