We have constructed fission yeast vectors that carry either complete or 5'-truncated alleles of the hph gene, encoding hygromycin B phosphotransferase. We show that plasmid-borne hph can be expressed in fission yeast to confer hygromycin resistance. The vectors permit selection or screening in fission yeast for promoter activity of DNA fragments from other species. We used the vectors to identify several genomic sequences from Physarum that provide promoter function in fission yeast.