The most confirmed function of plastid terminal oxidase in developed chloroplasts is its role in chlororespiration. In this process, NADPH dehydrogenase (NDH) reduces the quinone pool and the terminal oxidase oxidizes it, serving the same function as cytochrome c oxidase from mitochondrial electron transport. In Chlamydomonas, there are two copies of the gene for the oxidase. PTOX2 significantly contributes to the flux of electrons through chlororespiration in the dark. There is also evidence from experiments with tobacco that it functions in plant chlororespiration as well.
In fully developed chloroplasts, prolonged exposure to light increases the activity of the oxidase. Because the enzyme acts at the plastoquinone pool in between photosystem II and photosystem I, it may play a role in controlling electron flow through photosynthesis by acting as an alternative electron sink. Similar to its role in carotenoid synthesis, its oxidase activity may prevent the over-reduction of photosystem I electron acceptors and damage by photoinhibition. A recent analysis of electron flux through the photosynthetic pathway shows that even when activated, the electron flux plastid terminal oxidase diverts is two orders of magnitude less than the total flux through photosynthetic electron transport. This suggests that the protein may play less of a role than previously thought in relieving the oxidative stress in photosynthesis.