Pink-pigmented facultatively methylotrophic bacteria (PPFMs), classified as Methylobacterium spp., are persistent colonizers of plant leaf surfaces. Reports of PPFM-plant dialogue led us to examine cytokinin production by PPFMs. Using immunoaffinity and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) purification, we obtained 22 to 111 ng of trans-zeatin per liter from culture filtrates of four PPFM leaf isolates (from Arabidopsis, barley, maize, and soybean) and of a Methylobacterium extorquens type culture originally recovered as a soil isolate. We identified the zeatin isolated as the trans isomer by HPLC and by a radioimmunoassay in which monoclonal antibodies specific for trans-hydroxylated cytokinins were used. Smaller and variable amounts of trans-zeatin riboside were also recovered. trans-Zeatin was recovered from tRNA hydrolysates in addition to the culture filtrates, suggesting that secreted trans-zeatin resulted from tRNA turnover rather than from de novo synthesis. The product of the miaA gene is responsible for isopentenylation of a specific adenine in some tRNAs. To confirm that the secreted zeatin originated from tRNA, we mutated the miaA gene of M. extorquens by single exchange of an internal miaA fragment into the chromosomal gene. Mutant exconjugants, confirmed by PCR, did not contain zeatin in their tRNAs and did not secrete zeatin into the medium, findings which are consistent with the hypothesis that all zeatin is tRNA derived rather than synthesized de novo. In germination studies performed with heat-treated soybean seeds, cytokinin-null (miaA) mutants stimulated germination as well as wild-type bacteria. While cytokinin production may play a role in the plant-PPFM interaction, it is not responsible for stimulation of germination by PPFMs.Although the best-studied plant-bacterium relationships involve pathogenesis or symbiosis, plants interact constantly with phylloplane bacteria and with the bacteria in the soil around their roots (rhizosphere). While it is not widely believed that epi-and endophytic bacteria have overt effects on plants, there is evidence (13) that plants interact with pink-pigmented facultatively methylotrophic bacteria (PPFMs), which are inhabitants of the phylloplane and rhizosphere. PPFMs are gram-negative members of the alpha subclass of the class Proteobacteria that belong to the genus Methylobacterium and are known to inhabit the leaf surfaces of a wide variety of plant species (11). One intriguing aspect of the plant-PPFM relationship is the possibility that PPFMs may provide cytokinins to the plant host or have cytokinin-like effects. Corpe and Basile (12) demonstrated that callus from Streptocarpus prolixus (gracilis) (Cape primrose) regenerated plantlets within 15 days when it was cultured cobiotically with PPFMs. PPFM-free controls exhibited no plant development after 30 days. However, Corpe and Basile did not indicate whether specific phytohormone regimens could mimic the PPFM effects or whether PPFMs produce phytohormones. We demonstrated previously that heat ...