Abstract
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of wound location on the fungal communities and volatile distribution of agarwood in Aquilaria sinensis. Two-dimensional gas chromatography with high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry revealed 60 compounds from the NIST library, including 25 sesquiterpenes, seven monoterpenes, two diterpenes, nine aromatics, nine alkanes and eight others. Of five agarwood types, Types IV and II contained the greatest number and concentration of sesquiterpenes, respectively. The fungal communities of the agarwood were dominated by the phylum Ascomycota and were significantly affected by the type of wound tissue. Community richness indices (observed species, Chao1, PD whole tree, ACE indices) indicated that Types I and IV harboured the most and least species-rich fungal communities, and the fungal communities of Types V, I, III and IV/II were dominated by Lasiodiplodia, Hydnellum, Phaeoisaria and Ophiocordyceps species, respectively. Correlations between fungal species and agarwood components revealed that the chemical properties of A. sinensis were associated with fungal diversity. More specifically, the dominant fungal genera of Types V, I and III (Lasiodiplodia, Hydnellum and Phaeoisaria, respectively) were strongly correlated with specific terpenoid compounds. The finding that wound location affects the fungal communities and volatile distribution of agarwood provides insight into the formation of distinct agarwood types.
Highlights
Agarwood, known as ‘wood of the Gods’, is of huge cultural significance, due to its peculiar perfume and use in incense ceremonies
Compound 52 was associated with the presence of Paraconiothyrium, Ascotaiwannia and Phaeoacremonium, whereas compounds 44, 49 and 51 were associated with Devriesin, Sporobolomyces and Comoclathris, respectively (r . 0.8, p, 0.01; table 4 and table S1). These analyses indicate that the presence of Lasiodiplodia, Cladosporium, Resinicium, Hydnellum and Monographella is highly correlated with volatiles in eight common fungal genera that were present in all agarwood samples
Using GC Â GC-HR-TOF-MS, the present study determined that differences in the type and number of compounds in the different types of agarwood were significant and that GC Â GC-HR-TOF-MS can be used as an effective tool for the separation and identification of individual compounds from complex volatile oils
Summary
Known as ‘wood of the Gods’, is of huge cultural significance, due to its peculiar perfume and use in incense ceremonies. Derived from the resinous portions of trunks and branches from Aquilaria and Gyrinops species, it is the basis of some of the most world’s most exclusive perfumes and is used extensively for medicine and incense across Asia, the Middle East and Europe [1,2]. This widespread use can likely be attributed to the sesquiterpene and phenylethyl chromone derivatives of agarwood [3,4,5], which have biological and pharmacological properties, including antimicrobial, anti-oxidant and anti-proliferative activities [6 –8]. All Aquilaria and Gyrinops species are endangered and are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, http://www.cites.org). To protect both wild agarwood resources and sustainable agarwood production, A. sinensis has been widely cultivated in Guangdong and Hainan provinces in China, and due to its rarity and value, A. sinensis has been used to investigate processes for improving the oil yield of agarwood in China
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