Expression of the CTA1 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, encoding catalase A, the peroxisomal catalase of this yeast, is sensitive to glucose repression. A DNA fragment cloned as a multicopy plasmid suppressing the glucose repression of CTA1 transcription was demonstrated to contain the ADR1 gene. Multiple copies of ADR1 increased catalase A formation not only on 10% glucose, but also on ethanol medium and in the presence of oleic acid, an inducer of peroxisome proliferation. Compared with wild-type cells, adr1 null mutants produced by disruption of the gene exhibit reduced CTA1 expression. This demonstrates that ADR1 is a true positive regulator of CTA1. Further experiments showed that it acts directly on CTA1. Alcohol dehydrogenase II, which is under ADR1 control, was excluded as a mediator of the effect on CTA1; deletion of bases -123 to -168 of CTA1 reduces expression and eliminates the response to the ADR1 multicopy plasmid without eliminating fatty acid induction; and gel retardation experiments demonstrated that ADR1 binds to a CTA1 upstream fragment (-156 to -184) with limited similarity to the ADR1 binding site of ADH2. Northern hybridization experiments further demonstrated that expression of two genes encoding enzymes of peroxisomal beta-oxidation (beta-ketothiolase, trifunctional enzyme) and of a gene involved in peroxisome assembly (PAS1) is also negatively affected by the adr1 null mutation. These findings demonstrate that the ADR1 protein has much broader regulatory functions than previously recognized.