Plant-associated strains harbour multiple virulence traits critical for human infection.

causes fatal infections in immunocompromised individuals and patients with pulmonary disorders. Agricultural ecosystems are the vast reservoirs of this dreaded pathogen. However, there are limited attempts to analyse the pathogenicity of strains associated with edible plants. This study aims to (i) elucidate the virulence attributes of strains isolated from the rhizosphere and endophytic niches of cucumber, tomato, eggplant and chili;and (ii) compare these phenotypes with that of previously characterized clinical isolates. Crystal-violet microtitre assay, swarm plate experiment, gravimetric quantification and sheep blood lysis were performed to estimate the biofilm formation, swarming motility, rhamnolipid production and haemolytic activity, respectively, of strains. In addition, their pathogenicity was also assessed based on their ability to antagonize plant pathogens ( and ) and kill a select nematode (). Nearly 80 % of the plant-associated strains produced rhamnolipid and exhibited at least one type of lytic activity (haemolysis, proteolysis and lipolysis). Almost 50 % of these strains formed significant levels of biofilm and exhibited swarming motility. The agricultural strains showed significantly higher and lower virulence against the bacterial and fungal pathogens, respectively, compared to the clinical strains. In a maximum of 40 and 100% mortality were induced by the agricultural and clinical strains, respectively. This investigation shows that in edible plants isolated directly from the farm express virulence and pathogenicity. Furthermore, clinical and agricultural strains antagonized the tested fungal phytopathogens, and . Thus, we recommend using these fungi as simple eukaryotic model systems to test pathogenicity.