Question

One of the steps in the metabolic degradation of guanine in hydrolysis to give xanthine. Propose a mechanism.

Short answer

The mechanism for the hydrolysis of guanine is

Step-by-step solution

Definition of mechanism 

The sequence of elementary steps by which a chemical reaction occurs is defined as a mechanism.

Explanations

The hydrolysis of guanine occurs by the catalytic guanine deaminase and occurs when water reacts according to the nucleophilic addition reaction. Water gets added according to the nucleophilic addition reaction to the CN bond.

This is followed by the removal of ammonia by a substitution reaction.

The hydrolysis of guanine gives rise to xanthine

The mechanism for the hydrolysis of guanine is,