Autism BrainNet Releases Genetic Data for 27 New Brain Samples

By Jane Beaufore

natrot

Autism BrainNet (ABN) is pleased to announce the release of genetic data for 27 new brain samples. Supported by the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI), ABN aims to promote innovative, high-quality research on postmortem brain tissue to improve the understanding of the biological causes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related neurodevelopmental disorders. The data release brings the total number of brain samples with available genetic data to 273.

All the tissue samples analyzed were taken from Brodmann area 10, also known as the anterior prefrontal cortex. The tissues came from neurotypical donors as well as donors with a confirmed ASD diagnosis, an ASD diagnosis under review by a clinical team, a related neurodevelopmental disorder or epilepsy. Additional tissue came from donors for whom clinicians could not confirm a diagnosis.

DNA sequencing was performed in multiple batches at the New York Genome Center using Illumina NovaSeq 6000 and NovaSeq X machines, and sequence reads were mapped to the human reference genome version GRCh38.

Datasets include whole-genome and whole-exome sequence files, genotyping array data and variant calls (GATK HaplotypeCaller, Canvas/Manta copy number variant calls and mitochondrial variants). Whole-genome and genotyping array data are available for all individuals (WGS1-WGS12), and whole-exome data are available for the first seven batches (WGS1-WGS7).

Interested researchers can request access to these datasets through SFARI Base, where they can also find more information on the sample metadata and data use guidelines. Further information about tissues in the collection can be found in the Autism BrainNet Tissue Catalogue. Information about the tissue and data request process can be found on ABN’s tissue applications FAQs page.