The amidohydrolase superfamily is a functionally diverse group of evolutionarily related proteins which utilize metal cofactors in the activation of a hydrolytic water molecule and in the stabilization of the resulting tetrahedral intermediate. Members of this superfamily have been described which use one or two divalent transition metals. These metal cofactors are located in either or both of two active-site metal binding centers which are labeled as the Ma and MB sites. The goal of this research was to elucidate the nature of the reactions catalyzed by Ma and MB mononuclear members of the amidohydrolase superfamily. This was approached through comprehensive mechanistic evaluations of two enzymes which utilized the different metal sites. Nacetyl- D-glucosamine-6-phosphate deacetylase from E. coli (NagA) and cytosine deaminase from E. coli (CDA) served as models for mononuclear amidohydrolase superfamily enzymes which have evolved to utilize a single B-metal and a single a-metal for hydrolysis, respectively. This research elucidated the different properties imparted by the distinct a and B active sites and the specific interactions utilized by the enzymes for substrate binding and catalysis. These studies led to the eventual proposal of detailed chemical mechanisms and the identification of rate determining steps. Knowledge of sequence-function relationships was applied toward the discovery of function for enzymes related to cytosine deaminase and guanine deaminase. The first group of enzymes investigated was proposed to catalyze the fourth step in riboflavin and coenzyme F420 biosynthesis in Achaea. Three putative deaminases; Mm0823 from Methanosarcina mazei, MmarC7_0625 from Methanococcus maripaludis C7 and Sso0398 from Sulfolobus solfataricus were cloned and expressed. These proteins proved to be intractably insoluble. A second set of enzymes, Pa0142 from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01 and SGX-9236e (with crystal structure PDB: 3HPA) were found to catalyze the novel deamination of 8-oxoguanine, a mutagenic product of DNA oxidation. 9236e was cloned from an unidentified environmental sample of the Sargasso Sea. The closest homolog (98% identical) is Bcep18194_A5267 from Burkholderia sp. 383. Additionally, it was discovered that the proteins SGX-9339a (with crystal structure PDB: 2PAJ) and SGX-9236b catalyzed the deamination of isoxanthopterin and pterin-6- carboxylate in a poorly characterized folate degradation pathway. These enzymes were also from unknown environmental samples of the Sargasso Sea. The closest homolog of 9339a (88% identical) is Bxe_A2016 from Burkholderia xenovorans LB400. The closest homolog of 9236b (95% identical) is Bphyt_7136 from Burkholderia phytofirmans PsJN.