Biophysical Newsletter - August 2014

5

2014

AUGUST

BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER

2014

AUGUST

“I think she was the first person to work in algae channels in Latin America.” In the early 1990s, Escobar worked in the Department of Physiol- ogy at the University of California, Los Angeles, while Amodeo was employed in its Department of Biology. The two collaborated on a project assessing the function of guard cells, which allow the exchange of gases in a leaf. These cells swallow when illuminated with blue light; the increase in cell volume is mediated by an influx of water and potassium ions. “These are some of the very few cells where potassium can influx the cell through

at the University of Buenos Aires. Her lab con- tinues to focus on water relations in plants, using biophysical and physiological approaches. “Our aim is to understand regulatory mechanisms that enhance water permeability. We have evidence that heterotetramerization and gating can jointly affect the water transport capacity of the mem- brane. We would like to integrate this information with plant-water relations, because there are still many open questions.” The excitement of being a biophysicist, for Amodeo is in the breadth of techniques consistently being developed. She says, “You always think and fear that you are facing an ex- perimental bottleneck, but, particularly in biophysics, there is always the possibil- ity of employing resourceful newly developed techniques to proceed on the quest for knowledge.” The exposure to new techniques and varied approaches typical of the Biophysical Society Annual Meet- ing has influenced Amodeo’s decision to attend. She adds, “The (Annual) Meetings provide a very broad perspective of different scientific approaches not only by demonstration of new techniques but also allowing interaction between people from many different fields. They give you a perspective you never thought about. It is very important for young people to have this unique opportunity to share and learn.” She has encouraged the young people she works with to apply for the Society’s travel awards so that they might benefit from that same broadened perspective. When she is not in the lab, Amodeo enjoys pho- tography and cooking. Escobar recalls a particu- larly exciting picnic during their days at UCLA, “Gabriela is a great cook. I remember trying to prepare a barbeque at Joshua Tree National Park during summer, for Eduardo Perozo . The meat —and us—were cooking with no fire due to the extreme heat.”

“ You always think and fear that you are facing an experimental bottleneck, but, particularly in biophysics, there is always the possibility of employing resourceful newly developed techniques ” – Gabriela Amodeo

Amodeo organizing imaging acquisition for stusdents in her Plant Physiology course.

ionic channels because the membrane potential is more negative than the potassium equilibrium potential,” Escobar explains. “Finally, water and potassium are accumulated inside an intracellular organelle, the tonoplast. Thus, we studied the potassium channels in the tonoplast membranes that allow potassium permeation.” The project went extremely well, resulting in a paper published in Plant Physiology . Amodeo continued to work on ion channels throughout her postdoc years, and then transi- tioned to plant-water relation, specifically plant aquaporins. “I wanted to continue my work in ion channels,” she explains, “but Mario Parisi’s group specializing in water transfers in epithelial cells seduced me into exploring the recently discovered water channels, not only in their systems but also in plant cells… [plant aquaporins] were discovered in the 1990s and nobody knew at that moment how wide their distribution was through all the kingdoms and their relevance in the plant field.” Currently, Amodeo is a professor in the Depart- ment of Biodiversity and Experimental Biology

Profilee-at-a-Glance

Gabriela Amodeo Institution University of Buenos Aires, Argentina Research Area Plant aquaporins: Gating and translocation as key compo- nents to water permeation