Plays an essential role in chloroplast development and is required for chloroplast integrity and viability. Expressed in young leaves. Albino phenotype and seedling lethal when homozygous. The phenotype is due to the absence of thylakoid membranes and granal stacks in plastids. DJ1C lacks the catalytic cysteine residues in the endopeptidase domains which is a highly conserved feature of the family. However these residues are not essential for the function of DJ1C in chloroplast development (PubMed:21886817). Belongs to the peptidase C56 family.