IntAct: Quick tour

IntAct [2] is a central, public repository where molecular interactions data can be stored and accessed. We are populating IntAct both with submitted data and with data from the scientific literature. The database makes extensive use of controlled vocabularies, which allow consistent description of the experimental detail that was used to generate the data. To support generalised queries, these vocabularies have a hierarchical structure and, where possible, existing reference systems such as the NCBI [3] taxonomy database or the Gene Ontology [4] (GO) are used. In addition, IntAct provides a complete, open source database and analysis system for molecular interactions: it can be locally installed and adapted to the needs of the local organisation. This reduces development time and encourages researchers to build consistent interaction datasets by using the same infrastructure and annotation [5] system. When you query data in IntAct you also access over 16 million interactions in a further 15 data resources via our PSICQUIC [6] (Protemics Standard Initiative Common QUery InterfaCe) service or a consistently annotated, non-redundant, experimentally determined subset from the IMEx Consortium [7].