We have studied selective inactivation of alcohol oxidase (AO) in two peroxisome-deficient (PER) mutants of the yeast Hansenula polymorpha. In these mutants high activities of cytosolic AO are induced by different growth conditions. At enhanced expression rates AO is arranged in large crystalloids in the cytosol, whereas smaller crystalloids are often observed inside the nucleus. Transfer of cells of the PER mutant 125-2E, which completely lacks peroxisomes, to glucose-excess conditions did not lead to degradative inactivation of AO and catalase as observed in wild-type (WT) cells used as a control. The gradual decrease in enzyme activities in the PER mutant could be accounted for by dilution of existing enzyme into newly formed cells as a result of growth. Morphologically, degradation of the cytosolic crystalloids was also not observed. Similar results were obtained with a second PER mutant (strain 124-2D), impaired in the import of peroxisomal matrix proteins. This mutant is characterized by the presence of small peroxisomes and large cytosolic AO crystalloids. Upon a shift of cells to glucose-excess conditions only part of the small peroxisomes present in these cells were degraded by mechanisms similar to those observed in WT cells placed under identical conditions. These results indicate that degradative inactivation of AO in H. polymorpha is strictly dependent on the localization of the enzyme inside peroxisomes and furthermore suggests that the mechanisms triggering this process are not directed against AO protein, but instead, to the membrane surrounding the organelle. Transfer of cells to methanol- or ethanol-containing media both resulted in modification inactivation of AO.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)