Clone gaharu

Many tree species have become the focus of increasingconservation concern in recent years, primarilybecause of the current high rates of forestclearance and over-exploitation (Newton et al., 1999).As an illustration, recent surveys have indicated thataround 9000 tree species are threatened with extinction(Oldfield et al., 1998). Aquilaria agallocha(Thymelaeaceae) is one of very few species of tropicaltrees and is the principal source of agarwood, oneof the most highly valuable forest products currentlytraded internationally. Agarwood (also known asaloeswood, eaglewood and gaharu, among manyother common names) is a fragrant wood that hasbeen traded since biblical times for use in religiousfunctions and for medicinal and aromatic preparations.High consumer demand, particularly from MiddleEastern and Asian markets, combined with decreasingsupply has pushed prices progressively higher tothe extent that top grade agarwood can sell for overUSD 10000/kg in end-use markets (Barden et al.,2000). A. sinensis was the traditional resource ofagarwood in China dating from ancient times, but isnow being replaced by agarwood from A. agallocha(named imported agarwood) in the market due to itsbetter quality. Since the 15th century, agarwood hasbeen collected and used as a drug in China. Studiesrevealed that agarwood has remarkable anticanceractivity (Gunasekera et al., 1981). Benzene extractablecompounds possess potent central nervous systemantidepression activities (Okugawa et al., 1993;1996), so agarofuran is considered as new promisingnervous system drug (Chen, 1999). The normalpropagation of A. agallocha by seed is difficult. Becausethe seeds’ moisture content is rapidly decreasedduring the first few hours/days, so the viability is lostrapidly.
Furthermore, insect pests infestation often ofthe seed inhibits the growth of the tree (Su, 1994).Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation ofChina.protocol for in vitro micropropagationusing shoot.