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Four bread wheat genotypes with contrasting drought stress tolerance were studied. Expression levels of dehydrin (Wdhn13) and C-repeat binding factor (Cbf14, Cbf15) genes were investigated in leaves of two drought tolerant (Plainsman V, Mv Emese) and two sensitive (GK Élet, Cappelle Desprez) cultivars by semi-quantitative RT-PCR during drought treatment at anthesis. Coordinate induction of Cbf14, Cbf15 and Wdhn13 genes occurred at a late stage of stress treatment in all cultivars except the most sensitive Cappelle Desprez, where no induction was evident. The most pronounced late induction of genes was observed in the tolerant Mv Emese genotype. Cbf14, Cbf15 and Wdhn13 showed largely parallel changes of expression in stressed adult plants. The mRNA level of the same set of genes was measured in leaves of non-stressed seedlings with qRT-PCR method. Expression level of Wdhn13 was high and low in seedlings of tolerant and sensitive cultivars, respectively. Cbf15 specific transcript was barely detectable in leaves of non-stressed seedlings. In order to shed light on any potential difference in hormone responsiveness, seedlings were subjected to ABA treatment in vitro. At low hormone concentrations (10 and 20 µM ABA) consistently weaker ABA induced root growth retardation of GK Élet was found in comparison with the other three cultivars. Results highlight pronounced and late induction of a set of defence genes and low ABA sensitivity as features appearing in drought tolerant and sensitive responses, respectively. Data is discussed in the light of multifactorial determination of the complex phenotype of drought tolerance in wheat.

Apple fruits are covered by hydrophobic cuticle that provides protection against desiccation, pathogens, excessive water absorption and radiation. The features of cuticle affect the quality and storability of the fruits. It was aimed to evaluate the correlation between peel ultrastructure and weight loss in fruits covered by waxy bloom (cv. Florina) and without bloom (cv. Red Rome van Well) during 4-month cold storage. SEM (scanning electron microscopy) was used for visualization of the fruit surface and fruit weight was also measured. Several studies have revealed that there may be correlation between the ultrastructure of cuticle and its water permeability. Our results confirmed this phenomenon in case of two cultivars. The weight loss per fruit surface area unit of ‘Florina’ was found significantly higher than that of ‘Red Rome van Well’. At the same time the cuticular surface of the fruits contained more micro-cracks in case of the former cultivar. These data confirmed the relationship between the density of cuticular micro-cracks and the water vapour permeability. We concluded that this feature is more significant than the amount of natural waxy bloom on fruit surface.