Cytochrome c oxidase (COX), the terminal component of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, catalyzes the electron transfer from reduced cytochrome c to oxygen. This component is a heteromeric complex consisting of 3 catalytic subunits encoded by mitochondrial genes and multiple structural subunits encoded by nuclear genes. The mitochondrially-encoded subunits function in electron transfer, and the nuclear-encoded subunits may function in the regulation and assembly of the complex. This nuclear gene encodes subunit VIIb, which is highly similar to bovine COX VIIb protein and is found in all tissues. This gene may have several pseudogenes on chromosomes 1, 2, 20 and 22. [provided by RefSeq, Jun 2011]