Objective  To search for new resources as well as information gathering, a survey on the distribution and diversity and a sample collection of Bacillus-like species was conducted in Cangshan, Yunnan.

  Method  Bacillus-like bacteria were isolated from the soil samples and preliminarily identified based on their 16S rRNA gene sequences.

  Result  A total of 75 isolates were obtained from 10 soil samples and identified as 19 species belonging to 5 genera within family Bacillaceae. They included 14 Bacillus species, two Paenibacillus species, one Lysinibacillus species, one Psychrobacillus species and one Brevibacillus species. According to an isolation frequency analysis, the dominant bacteria in the region were B. weihenstephanensis, B. toyonensis, B. pseudomycoides and L. xylanilyticus. The remainders were extremely unevenly distributed among the samples. The high Margalef, Simpson, Shannon, Pielou's, Brillouin and Macintosh indices found in the Bacillus from the roadside soils might indicate that the effect by the plants was not significant. B. weihenstephanensis, B. toyonensis and L. xylanilyticus were isolated from all three sites and had high Margalef, Simpson, Shannon, Pielou, Brillouin and Macintosh indices, but no significant correlation with the sites. Based on the average quantification and frequency cluster analysis, these 19 Bacillus-like species could be divided into 4 groups.

  Conclusion  Cangshan area appeared to have Bacillus-like bacteria in large number with great diversity for further exploitation.