Nicola Spence

Last updated

Nicola Spence

CBE
SpenceCrop.jpg
Nicola Spence at Tedx, York in 2011
Born(1961-02-22)22 February 1961
NationalityBritish
Education University of Durham (BSc),
Birkbeck College (MSc),
University of Birmingham (PhD)
Known forChief Plant Health Officer, Defra
Scientific career
Fields Plant pathology, plant health
Institutions Warwick HRI,
Food and Environment Research Agency,
Defra
Thesis The identification, distribution and ecology of bean common mosaic virus in Africa (1992)

Nicola Jane Spence CBE (born 22 February 1961 [1] ) is the Chief Plant Health Officer and Deputy Director for plant and bee health at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Contents

Early life and education

Spence was educated at The Mount School, York and Bridlington School. [2] She obtained a BSc in Botany from the University of Durham. [3] Before starting her Masters, Spence volunteered at the Bermuda Marine Biology Research Institute then worked as a tutor for O level and A level students, and was unsure if she wanted to pursure a career in research. [4] Spence undertook a Msc Microbiology from Birkbeck College, [3] which she states 'turned out to be the best decision I made at the start of my career.' [4] Spence then obtained a PhD in Plant Virology from the University of Birmingham, [3] her thesis was entitled The identification, distribution and ecology of bean common mosaic virus in Africa. [5]

In December 2018 Spence represented the University of Birmingham on the Christmas University Challenge. [6]

Scientific research

Spence was a scientific researcher in plant virology at Horticulture Research International and Fera. She has researched viral diseases of crops and horticulture both in Africa and the UK.

Her research into viral diseases of crops in Africa has included investigations into the pathogenicity of bean common mosaic virus [7] and its occurrence in legumes in Uganda. [8] She has also published on the economic impact of turnip mosaic virus, cauliflower mosaic virus and beet mosaic virus in Kenya [9] and patterns of plant pest introductions into Europe and Africa. [10] She was the vegetables technical advisor for the Department for International Development's crop protection programme, [11] leading projects on management of viral diseases in vegetable crops in Kenya [12] and promotion of quality kale seed in Kenya. [13]

In UK horticultural systems, Spence has worked on identifying viruses present in Alstroemeria crops in the UK, [14] as well as isolating and characterising viruses from petunia [15] and Cineraria . [16] Other research included studying the effect of pepino mosaic virus on tomato yield. [17] She was an editor and contributor to the book Biotic Interactions in Plant-pathogen Associations. [18] and she was previously a member of the editorial board for the scientific journal Plant Pathology .

Spence was appointed chief scientist at Fera in 2009. [4]

Science City York

In 2009 Spence was appointed the chief executive of Science City York, [2] later known as SCY, an organisation supporting the development of science and technology industries in York, England. [19] In this role, Spence promoted connections between academics and local businesses, managing events such as Venturefest. [20] She was key in the development of the concept of the BioVale, [21] which aims to promote the bioeconomy in Yorkshire and the Humber. [22] She remained in the role for four years, until her appointment as Chief Plant Health Officer. [21]

Chief Plant Health Officer

Spence took up her post as chief plant health officer in April 2014, [23] and later also became deputy director for plant and bee health.

Spence has made several media appearances in relation to her work at Defra. In April 2016 she appeared on the Today Programme to discuss the finding of a resistant ash tree in Norfolk, [24] and has also appeared on the BBC's Countryfile programme. She has also been a guest on Farming Today discussing tree diseases in the UK. [25] In 2016, she was involved in the management of the Asian hornet outbreak response, [26] [27] and appeared on the World at One to explain Asian hornet biology and the Defra response to the outbreak. [28]

In 2017, in response to the Xylella fastidiosa outbreak in several European countries, Spence wrote to the horticulture sector urging them to follow the example of those which had committed not to bring in host plants from the affected countries. [29] [30] In 2018, she was a guest and speaker at summit examining the risks posed by Xylella to the horticulture industry hosted by Prince Charles. [31]

In May 2018, Spence gave evidence to the EU Select Committee on Brexit and the potential implications for plant health. [32]

Whilst at Defra, Spence has been active in promoting plant health as a career. In conjunction with the Royal Society of Biology and Charles Lane at Fera Science, Spence developed the Plant Health Professional Register – a way for those working in the area of plant health to gain a formal recognition of their professional skills and continue their professional development. [33] She worked with Harper Adams University to put together a course on plant biosecurity, and is a visiting professor at the university. [34]

Spence was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to plant health. [35]

Other roles

Spence has previously served on the Board of Trustees for Kew Gardens. [36] She is currently a Trustee for The Yorkshire Arboretum [37] and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology.

Spence is a visiting professor in plant pathology at Harper Adams University. She sits on the board of governors at her former school in York, The Mount. [38] and a member of the University of York Court. [39] She is Vice-President of the British Society for Plant Pathology. [3] Spence is chair of the management board of the CONNECTED project that aims to tackle vector borne plant diseases in Africa. [40]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant pathology</span> Scientific study of plant diseases

Plant pathology is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens and environmental conditions. Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, viruses, viroids, virus-like organisms, phytoplasmas, protozoa, nematodes and parasitic plants. Not included are ectoparasites like insects, mites, vertebrate, or other pests that affect plant health by eating plant tissues. Plant pathology also involves the study of pathogen identification, disease etiology, disease cycles, economic impact, plant disease epidemiology, plant disease resistance, how plant diseases affect humans and animals, pathosystem genetics, and management of plant diseases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mung bean</span> Species of plant

The mung bean, alternatively known as the green gram, maash ٫ mūng, monggo, or munggo (Philippines), is a plant species in the legume family. The mung bean is mainly cultivated in East, Southeast and South Asia. It is used as an ingredient in both savoury and sweet dishes.

<i>Lettuce mosaic virus</i> Species of virus

Lettuce mosaic virus (LMV) is a typical potyvirus, which causes one of the major virus diseases of lettuce crops worldwide.

Colin Louis Avern Leakey was a leading plant scientist in the United Kingdom, a Fellow of King's College, Cambridge and of the Institute of Biology, and a world authority on beans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassava mosaic virus</span> Genus of viruses

Cassava mosaic virus is the common name used to refer to any of eleven different species of plant pathogenic virus in the genus Begomovirus. African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV), East African cassava mosaic virus (EACMV), and South African cassava mosaic virus (SACMV) are distinct species of circular single-stranded DNA viruses which are transmitted by whiteflies and primarily infect cassava plants; these have thus far only been reported from Africa. Related species of viruses are found in India and neighbouring islands, though cassava is cultivated in Latin America as well as Southeast Asia. Nine species of cassava-infecting geminiviruses have been identified between Africa and India based on genomic sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. This number is likely to grow due to a high rate of natural transformation associated with CMV.

Bean pod mottle virus, or BPMV, is a species of plant pathogenic virus in the family Secoviridae. It is known to infect soybean crops.

<i>Cucumber mosaic virus</i> Species of virus

Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) is a plant pathogenic virus in the family Bromoviridae. This virus has a worldwide distribution and a very wide host range, having the reputation of the widest host range of any known plant virus. It can be transmitted from plant to plant both mechanically by sap and by aphids in a stylet-borne fashion. It can also be transmitted in seeds and by the parasitic weeds, Cuscuta sp. (dodder).

<i>Soybean mosaic virus</i> Plant disease

Soybean mosaic virus (SMV) is a member of the plant virus genus Potyvirus. It infects mainly plants belonging to the family Fabaceae but has also been found infecting other economically important crops. SMV is the cause of soybean mosaic disease that occurs in all the soybean productions areas of the world. Soybean is one of the most important sources of edible oil and proteins and pathogenic infections are responsible for annual yield losses of about $4 billion in the United States. Among these pathogens, SMV is the most important and prevalent viral pathogen in soybean production worldwide. It causes yield reductions of about 8% to 35% but losses as high as 94% have been reported.

<i>Sugarcane mosaic virus</i> Species of virus

Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) is a plant pathogenic virus of the family Potyviridae. The virus was first noticed in Puerto Rico in 1916 and spread rapidly throughout the southern United States in the early 1920s. SCMV is of great concern because of the high economic impact it has on sugarcane and maize.

<i>Orthotospovirus</i> Genus of viruses

Orthotospovirus is a genus of negative-strand RNA viruses, in the family Tospoviridae of the order Bunyavirales, which infects plants. Tospoviruses take their name from the species Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) which was discovered in Australia in 1919. TSWV remained the only known member of the family until the early 1990s when genetic characterisation of plant viruses became more common. There are now at least twenty species in the genus with more being discovered on a regular basis. Member viruses infect over eight hundred plant species from 82 different families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in Kenya</span>

Agriculture in Kenya dominates Kenya's economy. 15–17 percent of Kenya's total land area has sufficient fertility and rainfall to be farmed, and 7–8 percent can be classified as first-class land. In 2006, almost 75 percent of working Kenyans made their living by farming, compared with 80 percent in 1980. About one-half of Kenya's total agricultural output is non-marketed subsistence production.

Alternanthera mosaic virus (AltMV) is a plant pathogenic virus. AltMV belongs to the virus genus Potexvirus and the virus family Alphaflexiviridae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence Ogilvie</span>

Lawrence Ogilvie was a Scottish plant pathologist.

<i>Nerine bowdenii</i> Species of flowering plant

Nerine bowdenii is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae. It is an herbaceous bulbous perennial, growing to 45 cm (18 in) tall by 8 cm (3 in), with strap-shaped leaves and large umbels of lily-like pink flowers in late summer and autumn. The common names of the species are Cornish lily, Cape flower, Guernsey lily, and Bowden lily. However, it is neither a true lily nor from Cornwall or Guernsey, but originates from South Africa. Confusingly the name “Guernsey lily” is also applied to a related species, Nerine sarniensis.

<i>Aphis nerii</i> Species of true bug

Aphis nerii is an aphid of the family Aphididae. Its common names include oleander aphid, milkweed aphid, sweet pepper aphid, and nerium aphid.

Thousands of plant diseases have been recorded throughout the world, many of these causing heavy crop losses. Early detection and accurate diagnosis is essential for the effective management of plant disease. Thus the first step in studying any disease is its timely detection of the diseased plant. Quick initial detection is largely based on the signs and symptoms of disease.

Maize lethal necrosis disease is a viral disease affecting maize (corn) predominantly in East Africa, Southeast Asia and South America, which was recognised in 2010. It is caused by simultaneous infection with two viruses, MCMoV and any of several Potyviridae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Moore (phytopathologist)</span> British botanist (1920–1986)

Frances Joan Harvey Moore, OBE was a British plant pathologist, science administrator and conservationist.

Elijah Miinda Ateka is a Professor of Plant Virology at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. He is involved with the diagnosis and characterisation of the sweet potato virus and the cassava virus, and is part of the Cassava Virus Action Project (CVAP).

The Ash Archive is a project founded in 2019 to restore ash trees to the landscape in England. English ash trees experienced massive dieback beginning in 2012 as a result of a fungal pathogen, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. The archive contains over 3,000 trees, all of which propagated from the shoots of trees that had demonstrated some resistance to the fungus. The archive was established with £1.9 million in government funding, and followed a five-year project to identify ash trees that were resistant to the fungus. One of the final trees in the archive was planted in January 2020 by Nicola Spence, the Chief Plant Health Officer of the UK government. Spence said, "I’m delighted to acknowledge the successes of the Ash Archive project and welcome the International Year of Plant Health by planting an ash dieback-tolerant tree."

References

  1. ↑ "Profile – Professor Nicola Spence: Growing concerns that give an academic grounding in business". Greg Wright. 5 January 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Professor Nicola Spence appointed as Science City York's new chief executive". Ron Godfrey. The Press. 15 September 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Professor Nicola Spence – BSPP Vice President". British Society for Plant Pathology. January 2018. Archived from the original on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 "Nicola Spence". Birkbeck College . Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  5. ↑ Spence, Nicola (1992). The identification, distribution and ecology of bean common mosaic virus in Africa (PhD). University of Birmingham.
  6. ↑ "Christmas University Challenge alumni line-up announced". BBC. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  7. ↑ Spence, NJ; Walky, DGA (1995). "Variation for pathogenicity among isolates of bean common mosaic virus in Africa and a reinterpretation of the genetic relationship between cultivars of Phaseolus vulgaris and pathotypes of BCMV". Plant Pathology. 44 (3): 527–546. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3059.1995.tb01675.x.
  8. ↑ Sengooba, TN; Spence, NJ; Walkey, DGA; Allen, DJ; Lana, AF (1997). "The occurrence of bean common mosaic necrosis virus in wild and forage legumes in Uganda". Plant Pathology. 46 (1): 95–103. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-3059.1997.d01-12.x .
  9. ↑ Spence, NJ; Phiri, NA; Hughes, SL; Mwaniki, A; Simons, S; Oduor, G; Chacha, D; Ndirangu, S; Kibata, GN; Marris, GC (2006). "Economic impact of Turnip mosaic virus, Cauliflower mosaic virus and Beet mosaic virus in three Kenyan vegetables". Plant Pathology. 56 (2): 317–323. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3059.2006.01498.x.
  10. ↑ Waage, JK; Woodhall, JW; Bishop, SJ; Smith, JJ; Jones, DR; Spence, NJ (2008). "Patterns of plant pest introductions in Europe and Africa". Agricultural Systems. 99 (1): 1–5. doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2008.08.001.
  11. ↑ "BSPP News Summer 2001". British Society for Plant Pathology. 2001.
  12. ↑ Spence, Nicola (2003). "Management of Virus Diseases of Vegetable Crops in Kenya – Final Technical Report". Department for International Development.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  13. ↑ Spence, Nicola (2006). "Promotion of quality kale seed in Kenya" (PDF). Department for International Development. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  14. ↑ Spence, Nicola J; Mills, Peter R; Barbara, Dez J (2000). "A Survey of Viruses of Alstroemeria in the UK and the Characterisation of Carlaviruses Infecting Alstroemeria". European Journal of Plant Pathology. 106 (9): 843–847. doi:10.1023/A:1008731508023.
  15. ↑ Spence, NJ; Sealy, I; Mills, PR; Foster, GD (2001). "Characterisation of a Tobamovirus from Trailing Petunias". European Journal of Plant Pathology. 107 (6): 633–638. doi:10.1023/A:1017980712521.
  16. ↑ Weekes, RJ; Barker, I; Spence, NJ; O'Neill, T; Wood, KR (1998). "A UK Isolate of Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus From Glasshouse‐grown Cineraria". Journal of Phytopathology. 146 (4): 201–103. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0434.1998.tb04680.x.
  17. ↑ Spence, NJ; Basham, J; Mumford, RA; Hayman, G; Edmondson, R; Jones, DR (2006). "Effect of Pepino mosaic virus on the yield and quality of glasshouse‐grown tomatoes in the UK". Plant Pathology . 55 (5): 595–606. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3059.2006.01406.x .
  18. ↑ Jeger, MJ; Spence, NJ (2001). Biotic Interactions in Plant-pathogen Associations. CABI. p. 353. ISBN   9780851995120.
  19. ↑ "Science City York: what we do". Science City York. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  20. ↑ "Inspiring science and technology for the future". University of York . Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  21. 1 2 "SCY chief takes new role at DEFRA". The Press. 17 March 2014.
  22. ↑ "About Us". BioVale. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  23. ↑ "New Chief Plant Health Officer announced". Defra. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  24. ↑ "New research offers hope on ash dieback". The Tree Council. 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  25. ↑ "Agricultural land purchases, tree diseases, deer". Farming Today . 9 October 2017.
  26. ↑ "Threat to honeybees as Asian hornet's arrival on UK mainland confirmed". Adam Vaughan. 20 September 2016.
  27. ↑ "Asian killer hornet discovered in Devon posing threat to dwindling native bee populations". The Independent . 26 September 2017.
  28. ↑ "Search on for the Asian hornet queen". BBC Radio 4. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  29. ↑ "Europe must step up action against spread of fatal plant disease, says Gove". The Guardian . Press Association. 8 September 2017.
  30. ↑ Spence, Nicola (8 September 2017). "Act now to keep the UK Xylella free" (PDF). Defra. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  31. ↑ Matthew Appleby (6 February 2018). "Calls for horticulture industry alliance to tackle Xylella at Highgrove summit". Horticulture Week.
  32. ↑ "Corrected oral evidence: Brexit: plant and animal biosecurity" (PDF). House of Lords. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  33. ↑ "Society launches Plant Health Professional Register". Royal Society of Biology. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  34. ↑ "Two leading scientists named as visiting professors". Harper Adams University. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  35. ↑ "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N9.
  36. ↑ "Reappointments to the Board of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". Defra . Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  37. ↑ "Trustees & Team". The Yorkshire Arboretum. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  38. ↑ "Governing Body". The Mount School. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  39. ↑ "Constituency and membership of Court". University of York. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  40. ↑ "Prof. Nicola Spence (Chair)". University of Bristol. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.