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Several important terpenoids in modern medicines are also synthesised via similar pathway such as the antimalarial agent artemisin in Artemisia annua L.

At the end of the downstream process, highly specialised enzymes categorised as terpene synthases (TPSs) transform the intermediates into various structural types of terpenoids. From the building precursor isoprenoid, subsequent enzymatic reactions take place, converting the precursor into several intermediates. the cytosolic mevalonic acid (MVA) pathway (Xu et al. In Aquilaria, guaiene synthesis has been shown to follow the general terpene synthesis pathway established in higher plants, i.e. The guaienes are used in the fragrance and flavouring industries to impart earthy, spicy aromas and tastes. α-Guaiene is the most common and was first isolated from guaiac wood oil from Bulnesia sarmienti Lorentz ex Griseb.

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Guaienes are a series of closely related natural chemical compounds that have been isolated from a variety of plant sources. Agarwood extracts are rich with numerous types of sesquiterpenes such as guaiene, eudesmane, agarospiral and jinkoh-eremol (Yagura et al. The major active compounds in agarwood are phenylethyl chromones and sesquiterpenes, which are known to have analgesic and sedative effects (Okugawa et al. In order to survive in the environment, plants have adapted a number of strategies and one of them is the production of secondary metabolites (Zhao et al. Abiotic factors, in particular the act of wounding, have been shown to be the main triggers of agarwood formation (Nobuchi and Mohd Hamami 2008) and this is naturally followed by infection from biotic agents such as fungi for trees in wild habitats (Mohamed et al. Its production in the wood stem of Aquilaria species has been associated to the tree’s defence system against abiotic and biotic factors.

malaccensis and other species of the Indo-Malesian tree genus Aquilaria. Agarwood, eaglewood, gaharu, aloeswood-these are just a few of the names for the resinous, fragrant and highly valuable non-wood product produced by A. This tropical tree is of high economic interest because the agarwood it produces is being traded internationally. is the first agarwood-producing tree listed in the Appendix II of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora in 1994 (CITES 1994). It can be deduced that wounding triggers these two genes in the sesquiterpene synthesis pathway, which ultimately leads to agarwood formation.Īquilaria malaccensis Lam. The average normalised expression of both genes at S1 and S2 indicates the genes were also upregulated in the distal area from the wounding site.

AmSesTPS1 was highly expressed after 6 h post wounding for both S1 and S2, at a level three- to six-fold higher than that of the unwounded control (0 h), while AmGuaiS1 was induced after just 2 h of wounding (18- and 5.5-fold at S1 and S2, respectively), after which the expression of both genes was lowered. Two types of wood samples were collected: (1) from wounded area (S1) and (2) from 5 cm below the wounded area (S2). The genes were functionally characterised in a time course wounding experiment using 3-year-old living trees. while AmGuaiS1 shared between 95 to 99 % identity with δ-guaiene synthases from Aquilaria crassna Pierre ex Lecomte and A. Sequence alignment analysis showed that AmSesTPS1 shared between 99 to 100 % identity with sesquiterpene synthase from Aquilaria sinensis (Lour.) Spreng. The full-length complementary DNA (cDNA) sequence of AmSesTPS bp encoding for 544 amino acids, and AmGuaiS bp encoding for 547 amino acids. The genes encoding sesquiterpene synthase ( AmSesTPS1) and δ-guaiene synthase ( AmGuaiS1) were successfully cloned from callus RNA, using specific primers derived from transcriptomic data, in a reverse transcription PCR reaction. To understand the synthesis of this important compound, we cloned two candidate genes in the terpenoid synthesis pathway from Aquilaria malaccensis Lam., a major agarwood tree species. The presence of sesquiterpenes in high numbers and amounts correlates with agarwood of high quality. The diseased wood, agarwood, from the tropical tree taxa Aquilaria, is famed for its unique fragrance and medicinal values, mainly due to its richness in secondary metabolites such as the sesquiterpenes.