Since its domestication from wild rice thousands of years ago, rice has been cultivated largely through transplantation. During transplantation from the nursery to the paddy field, rice seedlings experience transplantation shock which affects their physiology and production.However, the mechanisms underlying transplantation shock and rice adaptation to this shock are largely unknown. Here,we isolated a transplant-sensitive chloroplast-deficient（tsc_1）rice mutant that produces albino leaves after transplantation.Blocking light from reaching the juvenile leaves and leaf primordia caused chloroplast deficiencies in transplanted tsc_1 seedlings. TSC_1 encodes a noncanonical adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette（ABC） transporter homologous to At NAP_（14） and is of cyanobacterial origin. We demonstrate that TSC_1 controls plastid development in rice under dark conditions, and functions independently of light signaling.However, light rescued the tsc_1 mutant phenotype in a spectrum-independent manner. TSC_1 was upregulated following transplantation, and modulated the iron and copper levels, thereby regulating prolamellar body formation during the early P_4 stage of leaf development. Therefore, TSC_1 is indispensable for plastid development in the absence of light,and contributes to adaptation to transplantation shock.Our study provides insight into the regulation of plastid development and establishes a framework for improving recovery from transplantation shock in rice.
