Objective  Distribution and diversity of Bacillus-like bacteria in soil of Paris polyphylla cultivation fields were studied.

  Method  Using the five-points sampling methodology, soil specimens were collected from the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere on the rice paddy, mountain ridge, and understory fields in Nanping, Fujian where P. polyphylla was cultivated. The bacteria were isolated using smear culture on petri dishes followed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing for identification.

  Result  Of the 87 isolates obtained from 6 soil specimens, 35 belonged to 13 genera of Bacillaceae. They included 16 species of Bacillus, 3 species each of Lysinibacillus, Paenibacillus, and Pseudomonas, and one species each of Bhargavaea, Brevibacterium, Burkholderia, Brevibacillus, Delftia, Paenarthrobacter, Arthrobacter, Pantoea, and Pseudomonas. According to the frequencies of these microbes appeared in the isolation process, the dominant Bacillus spp. in the cultivation soils were B. toyonensis and B. pseudomycoides. Among the different field types, the paddy soil held the greatest quantity of Bacillus spp. as well as the highest Margalef, Shannon-Wiener, Pielou, and Simpson diversity indices. And, the rhizosphere soil was richer in the population than non-rhizosphere soil at all sites.

  Conclusion  Paddy soil was rich and diverse in Bacillus-like bacteria which would benefit the cultivation of P. polyphylla.