Metal homeostasis is essential cellular progress for cell growth. Metal ion transporters play important roles in the first line of defense to cellular metal homeostasis perturbations. NRAMP transporter family was one of the most important classes in plant cells. However, functions and substrate specificities of the NRAMP family remain unknown in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a model unicellular plant. In this study, we identified CrNRAMP1 as an important transporter involved in zinc and cobalt transport. Heterologous and homologous functional analyses of CrNRAMP1 showed that CrNRAMP1 plays important roles in zinc and cobalt homeostasis. The expression of CrNRAMP1 correlated with zinc or cobalt concentrations, but excluding cadmium. These results help to understand the functions and specificities of NRAMP family members in C. reinhardtii. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.