A modification of the TCA cycle occurring in some plants and microorganisms, in which isocitrate is cleaved to glyoxylate and succinate. Glyoxylate can then react with acetyl-CoA to form malate.

A nearly universal metabolic pathway in which the acetyl group of acetyl coenzyme A is effectively oxidized to two CO2 and four pairs of electrons are transferred to coenzymes. The acetyl group combines with oxaloacetate to form citrate, which undergoes successive transformations to isocitrate, 2-oxoglutarate, succinyl-CoA, succinate, fumarate, malate, and oxaloacetate again, thus completing the cycle. In eukaryotes the tricarboxylic acid is confined to the mitochondria. See also glyoxylate cycle.

The chemical reactions and pathways involving isocitrate, the anion of isocitric acid, 1-hydroxy-1,2,3-propanetricarboxylic acid. Isocitrate is an important intermediate in the TCA cycle and the glycoxylate cycle.

The membrane surrounding a cell that separates the cell from its external environment. It consists of a phospholipid bilayer and associated proteins.