Traditional knowledge suggests that fungi growing in a wounded aquilaria tree may cause Agarwood formation. Different types of fungi have been suggested including: Phialophora parasitica, Torula sp., Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., Fusarium sp., Cladosporium sp., Epicoccum granulatum, Cylimndrocladium, Sphaeropsis sp., Botryodiplodia theobromae, Trichoderma sp., Phomopsis sp., and Cunninghamella echinulata. With all of these fungi suggested as a possible cause and no clear definitive research to show that a fungus is responsible for Agarwood to form, researchers have indicated “that aguru arises from a much more generalized cause than previously envisaged” (Gibson, Bano Biggyan Patrika 6:16-26 (1977)).
Agarwood is derived from the diseased timber of Aquilaria species of the family Thymelaeaceae. Cutting or burning may be one way to inoculate fungi naturally in the wood tissues of vivo tree. The fungus Melanotus flavolivens has successfully been used to induce artificial formation of Agarwood in Aquilaria sinensis in vivo tree.
When the wood tissue of A. Sinensis was inoculated with the fungus M. flavolivens the color of wood tissues was first change from white to brown. (China – ASEAN workshop on Conservation and Biotechnology Application of Tropical Resource, Haikou, China, October 2004)
Aquilaria crassna, A. cumingiana, A. beccariana, A. hirta, A. malaccensis, A. microcarpa and A. rugosa
Neighboring genera of the same family: Aetoxylon, Amyxa, Gonystylus, Gyrinops, Phaleria and perhaps genera Linostoma and Wikstroemia produce a resin after inoculating with the fungi into the phloem and then spread to hardwood species with resin production into the phloem after fungus inoculation, From Ch. Heinz, AMAP