Abstract:Metaproteomics is a recently popped up new technology that based on proteomics is used in the study on microbial communities. It is defined as an instant broad-scaled analysis of all kinds of microbial proteins in a given environment. Though the study of metaproteomics is still at its primary stage, the technology has displayed its powerful function in the study of microorganisms in a given biotope. This paper is to compare the strategies and techniques commonly used in the study of metaproteomics, summarize the status quo of the research on extraction, purification, isolation and functional identification of soil metaproteome, and look into future significance of the study of soil metaproteomics. The development of soil metaproteomics is influenced strongly by extraction methods, while the methods currently available can hardly supply proteins that can be successfully isolated and easily identified as well. What is more, the major problems in identifying proteins reside in the fact that soil is a poor source of proteins and that there is not enough sequence-database information for identification of proteins with mass spectrometry. Once these obstacles are solved, the soil metaproteomics can find broader and deeper application in the study on ecological functions of soil microbe.