Fusarium solani induces the formation of agarwood in Gyrinops versteegii (Gilg.) Domke branches

Abstract

Agarwood is a resinous wood produced by some members of plant family Thymelaeaceae under certain conditions. Agarwood is highly prized, but its formation requires a long-time process in nature. Therefore, various induction techniques have been explored to hasten the process. In this study, we induced agarwood in Gyrinops versteegii, one of the most abundant agarwood-producing trees in Indonesia. We used 12 trees and wounded four branches on each tree through an injection process. We used two strains of the endophytic fungi Fusarium solani isolated from Gorontalo and Jambi Provinces. After 3 months, the inoculated wood had an extensive resinous zone, when compared to wounded control wood. Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis of the inoculated samples revealed the presence of several sesquiterpenes characteristic of agarwood. These included alloaromadendrene, β-eudesmol and β-selinene as well as the chromone derivatives 2-(2-phenylethyl) chromen-4-one, 6-methoxy-2-(2-phenylethyl) chromen-4-one, and 6,7-dimethoxy-2-(2-phenylethyl) chromen-4-one. We conclude that this method successfully induced agarwood to form in a matter of months and could be used to enhance the success of agarwood cultivation.

Agarwood formation in Aquilaria beccariana and Aquilaria microcarpa in response to inoculation of newly isolated fungi from Brunei Darussalam

“…However, no prior studies have reported that Mucor and Trichosporon are associated with the formation of agarwood. This important finding has further extended the existing list of fungal genera that had previously been discovered in several agarwood studies (Subasinghe et al 2012;Faizal et al 2020). Moreover, extended studies on bacterial isolation and identification from naturally infected agarwood trees may also be conducted to produce a variety of local microbial inoculants that have the potential to induce agarwood formation in uninfected Aquilaria.…”

“…Four genera of fungal strains were isolated and identified as Aspergillus, Fusarium, Mucor, and Trichosporon (Table 6, Figure 2). Many studies have identified several genera of fungi that are associated with agarwood formation including Aspergillus and Fusarium (Subasinghe et al 2012;Faizal et al 2020). In this study, a different Aspergillus sp.…”

“…Agarwood is a fragrant dark resinous wood, derived from the heartwood of wounded trees of several species of Aquilaria and Gyrinops species belonging to Thymeleaceae (Faizal et al 2020). Synonymously, it is known by many names, such as chenxiang, eaglewood, gaharu or jinkoh, and is notable worldwide because of its high-priced resin .…”

Formulation of Alternative Media for Fungal Growth and Its Application as Agarwood-Inducing Agent in Aquilaria Trees

“…Commercially available liquid medium formulations for agarwood induction are limited and pricey, with tree genotype and environmental factors strongly influencing agarwood induction response and quality (Naziz et al 2019). Endophytic fungi have been employed as a biological inducer for agarwood formation with promising results (Faizal et al 2020, Justin et al 2020. Various species of fungi including Fusarium sp.…”

Methyl jasmonate and crude extracts of Fusarium solani elicit agarwood compounds in shoot culture of Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk.

“…Fusarium spp. are endophytic fungi which known to have an important role in agarwood formation ( Faizal et al., 2020 ; Subasinghe et al., 2019 ; Tian et al., 2013 ; Mohamed et al., 2010 ). To our knowledge, though, no studies of agarwood production in A. malaccensis shoot cultures have been performed.…”