This document summarizes microbial metabolism pathways, including glycolysis, the glyoxylate cycle, and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. It describes the key steps in each pathway, such as the breakdown of glucose to pyruvic acid in glycolysis and the oxidation of acetyl-CoA to release energy through citrate synthase, aconitase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, succinyl-CoA synthetase, succinate dehydrogenase, fumarase, and malate dehydrogenase in the TCA cycle. It also notes that the glyoxylate cycle is a variation of the TCA cycle that allows certain microbes to use acetate or fatty