Circadian ontogenetic metabolomics atlas: an interactive resource with insights from rat plasma, tissues, and feces

Circadian rhythms regulate key physiological processes through clock genes in central and peripheral tissues. While circadian gene expression during development has been well studied, the temporal dynamics of metabolism across tissues remain less understood. Here, we present the Circadian Ontogenetic Metabolomics Atlas (COMA), which maps circadian metabolic rhythms across 16 rat anatomical structures. The brain (suprachiasmatic nuclei, medial prefrontal cortex) and periphery (liver, plasma) span developmental stages from embryonic E19 to postnatal P2, P10, P20, and P28. Fecal samples include all four postnatal stages, while additional peripheral tissues were analyzed at P20 and P28. Using a multiplatform liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry approach, we annotated 851 metabolites from 1610 samples. We identified distinct circadian shifts, particularly during the transition from nursing to solid food intake (P10-P20), with an average of 24% of metabolites exhibiting circadian oscillations across sample types, as determined by JTK_CYCLE. Our study also underscores the importance of standardized sampling, as metabolite intensities fluctuate with both circadian rhythms and development. COMA serves as an open-access resource ( https://coma.metabolomics.fgu.cas.cz ) for exploring circadian metabolic regulation and its role in developmental biology.