| Summary: | Legumes are indispensable crops in sustainable agricultural systems because of their capability for biological nitrogen fixation owing to symbiosis with rhizobia and soil fertility restoration. Fungal pathogens from the genera <i>Fusarium</i> cause rotting and wilting and produce mycotoxins in plant tissues. The use of fungicides in sustainable agricultural systems is limited; therefore, the application of biological agents with antifungal activity against <i>Fusarium</i> spp. is desirable. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are promising control agents that produce a wide spectrum of functional metabolites. <i>Lactiplantibacillus plantarum</i> and other lactobacilli are the most intensively studied genera of LAB in relation to antifungal activity against <i>Fusarium</i> spp. However, LAB strains belonging to the lactobacilli and lactococci genera have not yet been isolated and characterised from legumes. Therefore, we aimed to obtain wild strains of LAB from legumes, screen them for functional characteristics with respect to their antifungal activity, and compare their antifungal activity against isolates of <i>Fusarium</i> spp. from legumes. Consequently, 31 LAB isolates belonging to 10 species were obtained and identified from legumes. Their functional properties, including genetics and proteomics, short-chain organic acid production, and antifungal activity against five <i>Fusarium</i> spp., of <i>Lactiplantibacillus plantarum</i>, <i>Lacticaseibacillus paracasei</i>, and <i>Lactiplantibacillus pentosus</i> isolates, were studied. Cell-free supernatants of <i>L. plantarum</i> and <i>L. pentosus</i> showed significant suppression of mycelial growth and conidial germination.
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