Citrate is a tertiary alcohol that cannot be oxidized. The isomerization converts the 3 degree alcohol into isocitrate, which is a 2 degree alcohol that can be oxidized.
Thioester hydrolysis helps to displace equilibrium towards product formation: Citrate is then isomerized to isocitrate, which is then decarboxylated to a-ketoglutarate. If citrate had not been isomerized to isocitrate, this decarboxylation would yield a branched carbon compound, much harder to metabolize.
To know more about isomerization click here:
https://brainly.com/question/21130461
#SPJ4