We showed that phosphorus-containing metabolites of crown gall tissues were all taken up by appropriate pTi+ agrobacteria. All but one were also taken up by pTi- bacteria. This one compound, produced by nopaline-, but not by octopine-type tumours, was the only phosphorylated organic compound actively secreted by healthy crown gall cells, and it appears to be agrocinopine A. Testing crown gall cell exudates may be a general procedure for the identification of opines by transformed plant cells.