2-methylisocitric acid, an intermediate of the methylcitrate cycle, was first synthesized in 1886 as a mixture of four isomers. The pathway of the methylcitrate cycle was not discovered until 1973 in fungi, though it was not yet fully understood. Originally, the methylcitrate cycle was thought to be present only in fungal species, such as Candida lipolytica and Aspergillus nidulans. In 1999, it was discovered that the methylcitrate cycle was also present in bacteria Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli. Much research has been done on the methylcitrate cycle's role in the development and function of various fungi and strains of bacteria, as well as its virulent properties in conjunction with the glyoxylate cycle.