If you have genetic interactions to curate, please read the Directionality section carefully.

When you choose 'Genetic interaction', a popup appears with two pulldown menus and a text field for optional comments.

Choose an evidence type from the first pulldown menu. Some evidence types have a brief description that indicates the directionality. Further information on evidence supporting genetic interactions is available an the BioGRID help wiki and in the Directionality section below.

Choose the interacting gene from the second pulldown menu. Click 'OK' to finish the annotation and close the popup.

Note that only pairwise genetic interactions can be annotated in Canto.

Directionality

Some genetic interactions have an inherent directionality. For example, overexpression of one gene (A) may suppress the phenotype of a mutation in a second gene (B), but overexpressing gene B may have no effect on a mutant gene A phenotype.

For such "asymmetric" interactions, Canto allows you to curate in only one direction starting from the gene you select first, as indicated in the interaction type pulldown menu. If the evidence description looks the wrong way around, you can finish and then edit the annotation, or change genes and start again.

In Canto, genetic interactions follow BioGRID conventions, in which the starting gene is known as "interactor A" or the "bait". The second gene, which you choose in last pulldown, is called "interactor B", the "hit", or the "prey".

If you have done the experiment in both directions, you should curate two annotations to describe the interaction completely. Curate starting from one gene, then switch genes to annotate the reciprocal experiment.

Other interactions are "symmetric" and therefore only need to be entered once, and you can start from either of the interacting genes. Symmetric genetic interactions in Canto: