Fig. 1

A metabolic view and signature of sika deer from birth to postweaning. a The column chart revealing the growth of whole-body wet weight of sika deer at days 1 (gray), 42 (blue), and 70 (red). PLS-DA showing the shift of amino acids (b) and fatty acids (c) in longissimus lumborum (LL) of sika deer among the three stages. d Box plots showing 4 metabolites in LL significantly changed during early growth period. Benjamini-Hochberg-adjusted P-values were determined by ANOVA. Bar and whiskers represent the mean ± s.d. PLS-DA and heat map revealing the changed metabolites in serum (e and g) and urine (f and h). Metabolite samples at days 1, 42, and 70 in the PLS-DA plot are colored by gray, blue, and red circles, respectively. The metabolites differentially expressed in heat map were identified by VIP values (> 1), SAM, and/or ANOVA methods. i The significantly changed concentrations of the triglyceride and cholesterol in serum. The gray, blue, and red bars at top of heat map represent the samples at days 1, 42, and 70, respectively. *, **, and *** indicate the Benjamini-Hochberg-adjusted P-value < 0.05, < 0.01, and < 0.001, respectively