Hansenula polymorpha is an exception among methylotrophic yeasts because it can grow on the disaccharides maltose and sucrose. We disrupted the maltase gene (HPMAL1) in H. polymorpha 201 using homologous recombination. Resulting disruptants HP201HPMAL1Delta failed to grow on maltose and sucrose, showing that maltase is essential for the growth of H. polymorpha on both disaccharides. Expression of HPMAL1 in HP201HPMAL1Delta from the truncated variants of the promoter enabled us to define the 5'-upstream region as sufficient for the induction of maltase by disaccharides and its repression by glucose. Expression of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae maltase gene MAL62 was induced by maltose and sucrose, and repressed by glucose if expressed in HP201HPMAL1Delta from its own promoter. Similarly, the HPMAL1 promoter was recognized and correctly regulated by the carbon source in a S. cerevisiae maltase-negative mutant 100-1B. Therefore we suggest that the transcriptional regulators of S. cerevisiae MAL genes (MAL activator and Mig1 repressor) can affect the expression of the H. polymorpha maltase gene, and that homologues of these proteins may exist in H. polymorpha. Using the HPMAL1 gene as a reporter in a H. polymorpha maltase disruption mutant it was shown that the strength of the HPMAL1 promoter if induced by sucrose is quite comparable to the strength of the H. polymorpha alcohol oxidase promoter under conditions of methanol induction, revealing the biotechnological potential of the HPMAL1 promoter.