A genetic interaction is inferred when over expression or increased dosage of one gene rescues the lethality or growth defect of a strain that is mutated or deleted for another gene.

Mutations/deletions in separate genes, each of which alone causes a minimal phenotype, but when combined in the same cell results in a more severe fitness defect or lethality under a given condition. This term is reserved for high or low throughput studies with scores.

A genetic interaction is inferred when mutation or overexpression of one gene results in enhancement of any phenotype (other than lethality/growth defect) associated with mutation or over expression of another gene.

An interaction is inferred between proteins in vitro. This can include proteins in recombinant form or proteins isolated directly from cells with recombinant or purified bait. For example, GST pull-down assays where a GST-tagged protein is first isolated and then used to fish interactors from cell lysates are considered reconstituted complexes (e.g. PUBMED: 14657240, Fig. 4A or PUBMED: 14761940, Fig. 5). This can also include gel-shifts, surface plasmon resonance, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and bio-layer interferometry (BLI) experiments. The bait-hit directionality may not be clear for 2 interacting proteins. In these cases the directionality is up to the discretion of the curator.

A genetic interaction is inferred when mutations in separate genes, each of which alone causes a minimal phenotype, result in a significant growth defect under a given condition when combined in the same cell.