BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
5
AUGUST
2014
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
AUGUST
2014
“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
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
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.
