The Autism Chromosome Rearrangement Database (ACRD) is a comprehensive database of structural variation related to autism extracted from publicly available literature as well as unpublished data. The database is available at: http://projects.tcag.ca/autism/ and is hosted by the Centre for Applied Genomics at Hospital for Sick Children. The ACRD facilitates the interpretation of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) structural variation data in relation to previously published work, providing a valuable resource for both clinicians and researchers. The database is continuously updated with in-house experimental data and data from published research studies. As of July 2009, the content of the ACRD was based on results from 279 peer reviewed journal articles as well as unpublished data. These structural variation entries are composed of 171 apparently balanced changes and 323 large cytogenetically detectable unbalanced changes. The data are represented in table format and in a genome browser format where molecular breakpoints are defined. The genome browser is based on the widely used generic model organism database (GMOD) software called GBrowse and is ideal for viewing structural variation in the genome such as genes and segmental duplications. The development team also accommodates the submission of data and comments regarding the database from the research community. Both cytogenetic and microarray data can be accessed using the database. The database was first described in Xu, J., Zwaigenbaum, L., Szatmari, P. and Scherer, S.W. 2004. Molecular Cytogenetics of Autism. Current Genomics 5(4), 347-364. The development of the database is supported by The Centre for Applied Genomics at the Hospital for Sick Children as well as the McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine.

The Autism Chromosome Rearrangement Database is accessible at: http://projects.tcag.ca/autism/. The development team also welcomes data submission and comments regarding the database from the research community. In citing the database please refer to: Marshall et. al. Structural Variation of Chromosomes in Autism Spectrum Disorder (2008). Am J Hum Genet.

Many studies lack the sample size to detect overlapping loci and thus the integration of multiple datasets in the ACRD is necessary to prioritize further screening of candidate loci. Future plans for the ACRD include expanded content, integration of karyotypic and copy number variation (CNV) data, and enhanced presentation of the database. It has been determined that approximately 7.4% of autistic patients have chromosome anomalies. These findings emphasize that cytogenetics and molecular cytogenetics should be an essential part of comprehensive investigations.