The distribution of acid phosphatase activity in nucellar cells of wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) during degeneration has been studied using the lead precipitation method at the electron microscopic level. Acid phosphatase was localized in the slightly condensed nuclear chromatin in nucellar cells without any sign of ultrastructural degeneration. As the nucellar cells started degenerating, the enzyme activity in the cell was observed, in the order from small vacuoles to cell walls, mitochondria, plastids and endoplasmic reticulum. Enzyme activity was the highest in most components of the nucellar cells adjacent to the embryo sac where the degeneration of nucellar cells was the strongest, but it was not observed in the nuclei of the degenerated nucellar cells. The results indicated that the degeneration of nucellar cells was a progressive and orderly process and supported that the degeneration of nucellar cells was a programmed cell death.
