
-
Area of expertise
Crop Protection & Sustainable Agriculture
-
Years of experience
25+
-
Highest qualification
BSc (Hons)
Andy sits on the Diagnostics in Bacteriology panel of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation (EPPO), on behalf of Defra, and has participated on expert working groups for Clavibacter sepedonicus, Clavibacter insidiosus, Ralstonia solanacearum species complex, and Dickeya/Pectobacterium spp.. He has represented the UK as a national expert on audit missions for the European Food and Veterinary Office (FVO), and is a member of the European Association of Phytobacteriologists. As curator of one of the largest and most comprehensive international collections of plant pathogenic bacteria, the NCPPB, – a founder collection of the United Kingdom Biological Resource Centres Network (UKBRCN) – he has a wide-ranging and detailed knowledge of all significant bacterial diseases of plants and the legislation around them.
Employing experience and expertise, Andy provides plant bacteriology training to post-graduate students, to bacteriologists overseas, and to the UK Plant Health and Seed Inspectorate.
More about crop health services
Fera offers a suite of crop health services, resources, testing facilities and expertise to help farmers, growers and the food industry to improve yields, reduce costs and develop sustainable solutions.
Latest Papers and Articles
Aspin A (2023) EPPO Standard on Diagnostics PM 7/43 (2) Pseudomonas syringae pv. persicae https://doi.org/10.1111/epp.12927
Pothier J, Aspin A, Cole J, Cottyn B, van der Wolf J (2023) EPPO Standard on Diagnostics PM 7/65 (2) Xanthomonas fragariae https://doi.org/10.1111/epp.12916
Harrison J, Hussain RMF, Greer S, Ntoukakis V, Aspin A, Vicente J, Grant M, Studholme DJ (2023) Draft genome sequences for ten strains of Xanthomonas species that have phylogenomic importance. Access Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.1099/acmi.0.000532.v3
Harrison J, Hussain RMF, Aspin A, Grant MR, Vicente JG, and Studholme DJ (2023) Phylogenomic Analysis Supports the Transfer of 20 Pathovars from Xanthomonas campestris into Xanthomonas euvesicatoria. Taxonomy 3, no. 1: 29-45 https://doi.org/10.3390/taxonomy3010003
Broders K, Aspin A, Bailey J, Chapman T, Portier P, Weir BS. (2022) Building More Resilient Culture Collections: A Call for Increased Deposits of Plant-Associated Bacteria. Microorganisms, 10, 741 https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10040741
Aspin A, Bergsma¬-Vlami M, Raaymakers TM; van Vaerenbergh J, Paillard S, F Poliakoff, Vreeburg R (2021) EPPO Standard on Diagnostics PM 7/21 (3) Ralstonia solanacearum, R. pseudosolanacearum and R. syzygii (Ralstonia solanacearum species complex) https://doi.org/10.1111/epp.12837
Stead D.E., Parkinson N., Aspin A., Heeney J., Crump S. and Vicente J.G. (2016) First occurrence of Xanthomonas campestris pv. raphani on wallflower (Erysimum cheiri) in the United Kingdom. New Disease reports 34, 14 http://dx.doi.org/10.5197/j.2044-0588.2016.034.014
Elphinstone J.G., Aspin A. (2016) Bacterial Spot and Canker of Prunus – Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni. Defra Factsheet https://planthealthportal.defra.gov.uk/assets/factsheets/x-arboricola-pv-pruni-factsheet
O’Neil T., Elphinstone J.G., Aspin A. (2012) Bacterial Diseases of Protected Ornamentals HDC Factsheet 26/12 https://horticulture.ahdb.org.uk/download/2479/file
Marco Scortichini, Maria Pia Rossi, Stefania Loreti, Adriana Bosco, Mario Fiori, Robert W. Jackson, David E. Stead, Andy Aspin, Ugo Marchesi, Maurizio Zini, and Jaap D. Janse (2005) Pseudomonas syringae pv. coryli, the Causal Agent of Bacterial Twig Dieback of Corylus avellana. Phytopathology https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-95-1316
Studholme, David; Wicker, Emmanuel; Muzemil, Sadik; Aspin, Andrew; Bogdanove, Adam; Broders, Kirk; Dubrow, Zoe; Grant, Murray; Jones, Jeffrey; Karamura, Georgina; Lang, Jillian; Leach, Jan; Mahuku, George; Nakato, Gloria; Coutinho, Teresa; Smith, Julian; Bull, Carolee (2019) Transfer of Xanthomonas campestris pv. arecae, and Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum to Xanthomonas vasicola (Vauterin) as Xanthomonas vasicola pv. arecae comb. nov., and Xanthomonas vasicola pv. musacearum comb. nov. and description of Xanthomonas vasicola pv. vasculorum pv. nov. Phytopathology, https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-03-19-0098-LE

Events past and future
2019: 10-14 June 2019 European Culture Collections’ Organisation (ECCO) meeting XXXIII – Microbe Power – in Turin, Italy
2018: 19-22 November 2018 Diagnostics in Bacteriology, EPPO panel meeting in Ghent, Belgium;
2018: 23 November 2018 European Association of Phytobacteriologists (EAP) meeting in Merelbeke, Belgium;

Andrew and their team work with customers to deliver the following services within Fera...
Diagnosis of plant bacterial diseases; accession to the NCPPB; training in sampling, detection and identification of plant pathogenic bacteria.
Soil Health Unit
Health tests, organism monitoring and metal detection for your soil, amongst other services
Latest Papers and Articles
Aspin A (2023) EPPO Standard on Diagnostics PM 7/43 (2) Pseudomonas syringae pv. persicae https://doi.org/10.1111/epp.12927
Pothier J, Aspin A, Cole J, Cottyn B, van der Wolf J (2023) EPPO Standard on Diagnostics PM 7/65 (2) Xanthomonas fragariae https://doi.org/10.1111/epp.12916
Harrison J, Hussain RMF, Greer S, Ntoukakis V, Aspin A, Vicente J, Grant M, Studholme DJ (2023) Draft genome sequences for ten strains of Xanthomonas species that have phylogenomic importance. Access Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.1099/acmi.0.000532.v3
Harrison J, Hussain RMF, Aspin A, Grant MR, Vicente JG, and Studholme DJ (2023) Phylogenomic Analysis Supports the Transfer of 20 Pathovars from Xanthomonas campestris into Xanthomonas euvesicatoria. Taxonomy 3, no. 1: 29-45 https://doi.org/10.3390/taxonomy3010003
Broders K, Aspin A, Bailey J, Chapman T, Portier P, Weir BS. (2022) Building More Resilient Culture Collections: A Call for Increased Deposits of Plant-Associated Bacteria. Microorganisms, 10, 741 https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10040741
Aspin A, Bergsma¬-Vlami M, Raaymakers TM; van Vaerenbergh J, Paillard S, F Poliakoff, Vreeburg R (2021) EPPO Standard on Diagnostics PM 7/21 (3) Ralstonia solanacearum, R. pseudosolanacearum and R. syzygii (Ralstonia solanacearum species complex) https://doi.org/10.1111/epp.12837
Stead D.E., Parkinson N., Aspin A., Heeney J., Crump S. and Vicente J.G. (2016) First occurrence of Xanthomonas campestris pv. raphani on wallflower (Erysimum cheiri) in the United Kingdom. New Disease reports 34, 14 http://dx.doi.org/10.5197/j.2044-0588.2016.034.014
Elphinstone J.G., Aspin A. (2016) Bacterial Spot and Canker of Prunus – Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni. Defra Factsheet https://planthealthportal.defra.gov.uk/assets/factsheets/x-arboricola-pv-pruni-factsheet
O’Neil T., Elphinstone J.G., Aspin A. (2012) Bacterial Diseases of Protected Ornamentals HDC Factsheet 26/12 https://horticulture.ahdb.org.uk/download/2479/file
Marco Scortichini, Maria Pia Rossi, Stefania Loreti, Adriana Bosco, Mario Fiori, Robert W. Jackson, David E. Stead, Andy Aspin, Ugo Marchesi, Maurizio Zini, and Jaap D. Janse (2005) Pseudomonas syringae pv. coryli, the Causal Agent of Bacterial Twig Dieback of Corylus avellana. Phytopathology https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-95-1316
Studholme, David; Wicker, Emmanuel; Muzemil, Sadik; Aspin, Andrew; Bogdanove, Adam; Broders, Kirk; Dubrow, Zoe; Grant, Murray; Jones, Jeffrey; Karamura, Georgina; Lang, Jillian; Leach, Jan; Mahuku, George; Nakato, Gloria; Coutinho, Teresa; Smith, Julian; Bull, Carolee (2019) Transfer of Xanthomonas campestris pv. arecae, and Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum to Xanthomonas vasicola (Vauterin) as Xanthomonas vasicola pv. arecae comb. nov., and Xanthomonas vasicola pv. musacearum comb. nov. and description of Xanthomonas vasicola pv. vasculorum pv. nov. Phytopathology, https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-03-19-0098-LE

Events past and future
2019: 10-14 June 2019 European Culture Collections’ Organisation (ECCO) meeting XXXIII – Microbe Power – in Turin, Italy
2018: 19-22 November 2018 Diagnostics in Bacteriology, EPPO panel meeting in Ghent, Belgium;
2018: 23 November 2018 European Association of Phytobacteriologists (EAP) meeting in Merelbeke, Belgium;

Andrew and their team work with customers to deliver the following services within Fera...
Diagnosis of plant bacterial diseases; accession to the NCPPB; training in sampling, detection and identification of plant pathogenic bacteria.
Soil Health Unit
Health tests, organism monitoring and metal detection for your soil, amongst other services