Interaktom

Interaktom is the complete set of molecular interactions that occur within a cell or organism, encompassing physical contacts such as protein–protein, protein–nucleic acid, and protein–metabolite interactions, as well as functional associations. The term is a variant of interactome, and in some languages it is used to denote the same concept. Interaktom studies aim to map how molecules collaborate to execute cellular processes, rather than listing individual components alone.

Constructing an interaktom combines experimental data, computational predictions, and literature curation. Common experimental approaches include yeast two-hybrid screens, affinity purification followed by mass spectrometry, co-immunoprecipitation, and proximity labeling methods. Data integration assigns confidence scores and classifies interactions by type and directionality. The resulting network is typically represented as a graph with nodes representing molecules and edges representing interactions; networks may be tissue- or condition-specific, reflecting dynamic changes in the interaktome.

Applications include modeling cellular pathways, identifying hubs and modules, interpreting disease mechanisms, and guiding drug target discovery. The interaktom varies in completeness across organisms and contexts, and remains inherently incomplete and subject to false positives and negatives. Comparative studies can reveal conservation and rewiring of interactions across species or conditions.

Public resources and tools support interaktome research, such as BioGRID and IntAct for experimentally derived interactions, STRING for predicted associations, and Cytoscape for network visualization and analysis. The concept of the interaktom is closely related to systems biology and interactomics, the broader field that studies networks of molecular interactions.