Exogenous salicylic acid has been shown to confer tolerance against biotic and abiotic stresses. In the present work the ability of its analogue, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid to increase abiotic stress tolerance was demonstrated: it improved the drought tolerance of the winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cv. Cheyenne and the freezing tolerance of the spring wheat cv. Chinese Spring. Salicylic acid, however, reduced the freezing tolerance of Cheyenne and the drought tolerance of Chinese Spring, in spite of an increase in the guaiacol peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase activity. The induction of cross tolerance between drought and freezing stress was observed: drought acclimation increased the freezing tolerance of Cheyenne plants and cold acclimation enhanced the drought tolerance. The induction of drought tolerance in Cheyenne was correlated with an increase in catalase activity.

The exact relationship between polyamine, abscisic acid and proline metabolisms is still poorly understood. In the present study, the effects of putrescine and abscisic acid treatments alone or in combination with polyethylene glycol-induced osmotic stress were investigated in young wheat plants. It was observed that abscisic acid plays a role in the coordinated regulation of the proline and polyamine biosynthetic pathways, which compounds are related to each other through a common precursor. Abscisic acid pre-treatment induced similar alteration of polyamine contents as the osmotic stress, namely increased the putrescine, but decreased the spermidine contents in the leaves. These changes were mainly related to the polyamine cycle, as both the synthesis and peroxisomal oxidation of polyamines have been induced at gene expression level. Although abscisic acid and osmotic stress influenced the proline metabolism differently, the highest proline accumulation was observed in the case of abscisic acid treatments. The proline metabolism was partly regulated independently and not in an antagonistic manner from polyamine synthesis. Results suggest that the connection, which exists between polyamine metabolism and abscisic acid signalling leads to the controlled regulation and maintenance of polyamine and proline levels under osmotic stress conditions in wheat seedlings.