I am interested the study of seed specialized metabolite diversity in Brassicaceae and other species. While it is important to characterize seed SM landscapes in different plant genotypes, we highlighted distinct patterns of SMs and their related pathways, showing significant contrasts in seed composition and spatial distribution for the defense-related and antinutritional glucosinolate (GSL) compounds among camelina, Arabidopsis thaliana, and Brassica napus, three closely related Brassicaceae species. In addition, our team characterize the diversity and role of SM decorations, or modifications, (mainly hydroxylation, glycosylation, acylation and methylation). We notably showed that they are strongly regulated by the environmental conditions and that some metabolic pathways can be induced by biotic and abiotic stresses and/or priming treatments.
Hence, besides the study of seed SM landscapes, I become interested in the characterization of SM and SM-decoration plasticity, i.e. the diversity and functions of SM in response to different and contrasting environmental conditions, and in the induction of plant and seed specialized metabolome in Brassicaceae species such as Arabidopsis, Camelina and Brassica.
In other works on camelina, rapeseed, common bean, wheat and tomato seeds, a major interest is the characterization of SM regulation by the (a)biotic environments, and their possible use for biocontrol or as biostimulants for the agroecology.
In collaboration with colleagues from other French and European institutes, I am also studying the impact of SMs on seed quality as food/feed, in relation with protein availability, and their nutritional activities, mainly with camelina and legume species (pea, faba-bean, lentil, chickpea) in different projects.

Full list of publications: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Massimiliano-Corso 



Funding and ongoing grants

• 2027 – 2030. Project: HORIGIN - In-depth characterization of horizontal gene transfers in insects and of their functional impact on a major pest. Funding: ANR Agence Nationale de la Recherche / French Research Agency. Amount: 840K€ (282K€ for the IJPB). Role: collaborator.
• 2026 - 2027. Project: EvoSeedGSL - Functional and evolutionary diversification of seed glucosinolates in the Brassicaceae. Funding source: METABIODIVEX (FR). Amount: 20K€. Role: Coordinator.
• 2026. Project TRANSCAM - Migration of Annotations and Biological Knowledge to a New Reference Genome. Funding source: SPS Bio-analyses 2026, Saclay Plant Science - SPS (FR). The budget covers a 6-month contract for an engineer. Amount: 27K€. Role: Coordinator.
• 2026 – 2028. Project SCARY-Seeds - Spatiotemporal Characterization of Abscisic acid RegulatorY networks in seed dormancy acquisition. Funding source: SPS research Open Call 2026, Saclay Plant Science - SPS (FR). Amount: 35K€. Role: Collaborator.
• 2025 – 2026. Project: FlavoResilience - Elucidating the role of flavonoids in pollen resilience to heat stress. Funding source: METABIODIVEX (FR). Amount: 40K€ (5K€ pour l’IJPB). Role: collaborator.
• 2026 – 2028. Project: KOMOD - Knowledge transfer for Organism level MODelling. Funding source: INRAE, Métaprogramme DIGIT-BIO (FR). Amount: 50K€. Role: collaborator.
• 2026 – 2030. Project SUPRASEED - Network for Evaluating Biostimulation and Biocontrol Approaches for the Protection and Enhancement of Seeds and Seedlings. Funding source: Grand Défi Biocontrôle et Biostimulation pour l’Agroécologie, France 2030 - ANR. Amount: 2.5M€ (450 K€ for the IJPB). Role: WP leader.
• 2026 – 2030. Project MAMBO - MoleculAr Modeling to Optimize and Develop Tools for Evaluating Biosolutions for SOil and Plant Health. Funding source: Grand Défi Biocontrôle et Biostimulation pour l’Agroécologie, France 2030 - ANR (FR). Amount: 3M€ (700 K€ for the IJPB). Role: Coordinator (co-coordinator Jean-Luc Cacas).
• 2025 – 2028. PROSPER - Promoting Resilient Orphan Legumes for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security. Funding source: HORIZON (EU). Amount: 5M€ (380K€ for the IJPB). Role: WP leader, main contact for INRAE.
• 2025 – 2028. Project: FORECAST - Fostering Resilient Agroforestry Systems with climate-ready Tree and Herbaceous Germplasm. Funding source: PRIMA (EU). Amount: 1.6M€ (281K€ for the IJPB). Role: collaborator, main contact for INRAE.
• 2025 – 2028. Project GERMOLEOPRO - Modification de la valeur nutritionnelle des protéines de cameline par les conditions de culture et la germination, recherche de bioactifs d’intérêt. Funding source: Carnot Plant2Pro and Qualiment (FR). Amount: 135K€ for the IJPB. Role: Coordinator for Plant2Pro.
• 2024 – 2026. Project SeedNapic - Characterizing sinapic acid pathways in seeds and their role against pathogens and oxidative stress. Funding source: SPS research Open Call 2024, Saclay Plant Science - SPS (FR). Amount: 39K€. Role: Coordinator.
• 2024 – 2029. Project ValoN - Nitrogen valorization from field to consumer: case of lentil and chickpea. Funding source: France 2030, ANR (FR). Amount: 2.5M€ (368K€ for the IJPB). Role: Collaborator.
• 2024 – 2029. Project OLEOPROTID - Interest of oilseeds in the diversification of food proteins - The case of Camelina. Funding source: France 2030, ANR (FR). Amount: 2M€ (390K€ for the IJPB). Role: WP leader, main contact for INRAE-Versailles.
• 2023 – 2026. Project: Diversity, plasticity and genetic determinism of the specialized metabolome of pea (Pisum sativum) seeds. Funding source: BAP department – INRAE and LETSPROSEED Project. Amount: PhD scholarship, 120K€. Role: Coordinator, Thesis director (co-direction with Vanessa Vernoud (AG, INRAE-Dijon, FR).
• 2023 – 2028. Project LETSPROSEED - Pushing back the limit to the use of legume proteins in human nutrition by improving seed quality and processing without compromising stress resistance. Funding source: PIA-4 (France 2030), ANR (FR). Amount: 3M€ (270K€ for the IJPB). Role: collaborator.
• 2023 – 2027. Project: DYNAFER - Dynamics of coumarin uptake by plant roots to improve iron nutrition. Funding: ANR Agence Nationale de la Recherche / French Research Agency. Amount: 410K€ (190K€ for the IJPB). Role: collaborator.
• 2022 – 2026. Project: DREAM - Diversified orchards for REsilient and sustAinable Mediterranean farming systems. Funding source: EU-PRIMA. Amount: 1.7M€ (200K€ for the IJPB). Role: collaborator, main contact for INRAE.
  2021 – 2026. Project: SUCSEED - Stop the Use of pestiCides on Seeds by proposing alternatives. Funding source: PPR, ANR (FR). Amount: 3M€ (700K€ for the IJPB). Role: collaborator.