Abstract
Structural studies of the ZIPs have greatly improved the understanding of the working mechanism for this functionally important metal transporter family. In this chapter, we describe the procedures to overexpress, purify, and crystallize a representative bacterial ZIP from Bordetella bronchiseptica (BbZIP), the structure of which was the first one that revealed the common structural framework of the transmembrane domain conserved within the entire ZIP family. We also discuss the considerations when we designed these experiments and compare the approaches used in this study with those commonly used in other works. The protocols provided in this chapter will facilitate structural and biochemical studies of other members of the ZIP family.