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Coix lacryma-jobi , also called adlay or Job's tears, is an annual herbal plant belonging to the Poaceae family that has been cultivated as a cereal and medicinal crop in Asia. Despite its importance, however, genomic resources for better understanding this plant species at the molecular level and informing improved breeding strategies remain limited. To address this, we generated a draft genome of the C. lacryma-jobi variety ma-yuen (soft-shelled adlay) Korean cultivar, Johyun, by de novo assembly, using PacBio and Illumina sequencing data. A total of 3,362 scaffold sequences, 1.28 Gb in length, were assembled, representing 82.1% of the estimated genome size (1.56 Gb). Genome completeness was confirmed by the presence of 91.4% of the BUSCO angiosperm genes and mapping ratio of 98.3% of Illumina paired-end reads. We found that approximately 77.0% of the genome is occupied by repeat sequences, most of which are Gypsy and Copia -type retrotransposons, and evidence-based genome annotation predicts 39,574 protein-coding genes, 85.5% of which were functionally annotated. We further predict that soft-shelled adlay diverged from a common ancestor with sorghum 9.0–11.2 MYA. Transcriptome profiling revealed 3,988 genes that are differentially expressed in seeds relative to other tissues, of which 1,470 genes were strongly up-regulated in seeds and the most enriched Gene Ontology terms were assigned to carbohydrate and protein metabolism. In addition, we identified 76 storage protein genes including 18 seed-specific coixin genes and 13 candidate genes involved in biosynthesis of benzoxazinoids (BXs) including coixol, a unique BX compound found in C. lacryma-jobi species. The characterization of those genes can further our understanding of unique traits of soft-shelled adlay, such as high seed protein content and medicinal compound biosynthesis. Taken together, our genome sequence data will provide a valuable resource for molecular breeding and pharmacological study of this plant species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study investigated how the essential elements of informed consent are realised during the consent process and examined the challenges in obtaining genuine informed consent in Korea. Methods: Through purposive sampling, we recruited 21 subjects from those participating in anticancer drug research since 2013. We undertook 1:1 in-depth interviews and analysed the data by framework analysis. Results: Themes raised throughout the interviews were categorised into ‘disclosure’ and ‘understanding’ of clinical information and ‘decision’. Provider-centred information, both verbal and written, was delivered to each participant. There were few tools that the research staff might evaluate study participants’ level of understanding of the provided information during the clinical trial. Although participants did not understand basic clinical trial concepts as much as desired, they may not seek to solve difficulties through communication with trial researchers. Doubts were raised about whether participants had sufficient capacity and free will to provide informed consent. Conclusion: There is a concern that informed consent can fall short of genuine in Korea. To ensure informed consent meets the international standard, greater efforts should be made to establish an explicit standard operational protocol for obtaining informed consent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]