We study the loss of telomeres from DNA on storage of seeds. This was done in a model rye system in which viability is lost after 3 - 4 years under normal dry storage or in 13 days under accelerated ageing conditions. Using the Southern and dot blots hybridization with telomere probes, we have established that telomere-containing sequences are preferentially cleaved from the rest of nuclear DNA on seed storage. In seeking a molecular marker for the loss of viability of seeds in store, it is clear that an assessment of nucleosome multimers would not be useful; for rye, at least, they are formed only in embryos that die at elevated moisture contents. However, the telomere loss does appear to follow the temporal loss of viability, even though the pattern of cell death may be differently determined by the level of hydration that embryos experience.