InterPro domain: IPR006254

Isocitrate lyase ( 4.1.3.1 ) [ 1 , 2 ] is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of isocitrate to succinate and glyoxylate. This is the first step in the glyoxylate bypass, an alternative to the tricarboxylic acid cycle (also known as the TCA cycle) in bacteria, fungi and plants. A cysteine, a histidine and a glutamate or aspartate have been found to be important for the enzyme's catalytic activity. Only one cysteine residue is conserved between the sequences of the fungal, plant and bacterial enzymes; it is located in the middle of a conserved hexapeptide.

1. High sequence conservation between isocitrate lyase from Escherichia coli and Ricinus communis. Protein Seq. Data Anal. 2, 463-6
2. Peroxisomal isocitrate lyase of the n-alkane-assimilating yeast Candida tropicalis: gene analysis and characterization. J. Biochem. 107, 262-6