Objective  To study the diversity and structural differences of rhizosphere bacteria and endophytic bacterial communities in Phyllostachys edulis forests during on and off years.

  Methods   Samples of rhizomes and rhizomes roots as well as rhizosphere soils of degree I, degree II and degree IV P. edulis and non-rhizosphere soils were collected in the on and off years. Genomic DNA was extracted from samples, and Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology was used to analyze the diversity of rhizosphere bacteria and endophytic bacterial communities in P. edulis.

  Results  A total of 31 phyla, 49 classes, 108 orders, 212 families, and 472 genera were identified. The dominant phyla in the on-year P. edulis rhizomes and rhizomes roots were α-Amastigotes, and the dominant order Rhizobia. In the off-year specimens, the dominant phylum was γ-Amastigotes, and the dominant order Bacillariophyceae. At phylum level, the abundance of Actinobacteria was higher in the on-year than in off-year rhizomes; and those of Acidobacteria and Methylobacteria were greater in the on-year than in the off-year rhizomes roots; and those of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were less in the on-year than in the off-year rhizomes roots. At class and order levels, the dominants included Frankiaceae and Rhizobia of α-Amastigotes in the on-year rhizomes and rhizomes roots as compared with the off-year samples. At the family level, the abundance of Flavobacteriaceae in the rhizomes root of the on-year was greater than that in the off-year samples. At the genus level, the abundance of Bradyrhizobium in the rhizomes root of on-year was greater than that in off-year. However, the abundance of Burkholderiaceae was lower of on-year than off-year. The rhizosphere soil at the forest in either on or off years did not differ significantly on bacterial diversity, but it was higher on the diversity and richness than the non-rhizosphere soil.

  Conclusion   The rhizosphere bacterial community at a P. edulis forest appeared to be more diverse than the non-rhizosphere, although the diversity was not significantly altered between the years of on and off on the P. edulis growth. The dominant bacteria in the rhizomes and rhizomes roots of the plants differed significantly during the on and off years.