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How does this infection process work?

Admin 0 Comments 25/12/2024 20:44

Aquilaria malaccensis is a tree native to the rainforests of southeast Asia. Prior to infection the healthy heartwood inside Aquilaria trees is pale, odorless, and worthless. However, in the wild, damage to the tree by external forces, such as grazing animals, sporadically results in the growth of a specific type of fungal infection inside the tree called Phialophora parasitica. The Aquilaria’s defense to this attack is to produce a stress-induced aromatic resin called aloes, which is dark and moist. Over the course of several years, the aloes slowly embed into the heartwood to create agarwood. For an experienced woodsman, they can look at an Aquilaria tree and predict whether it has agarwood inside or not. Ants bore into the tree trunk, causing a wound and bringing in the microorganism, bacteria, fungus spores into the trunk of the tree. The ant secretes a fluid that damages the tree, and then the tree uses its own sap to cover the wounds, which will turn into agarwood after a long time.