shock, and are involved in adaptation to stress, apoptosis or cell differentiation. JNKs have a number of dedicated substrates that only they can phosphorylate (c-Jun, NFAT4, etc.), while p38s also have some unique targets (e.g. the MAPKAP kinases MK2 and MK3), ensuring the need for both in order to respond to stressful stimuli. ERK5 is part of a fairly well-separated pathway in mammals. Its sole specific upstream activator MKK5 is turned on in response to the MAP3 kinases MEKK2 and MEKK3. The specificity of these interactions are provided by the unique architecture of MKK5 and MEKK2/3, both containing N-terminal PB1 domains, enabling direct heterodimerisation with each other. The PB1 domain of MKK5 also contributes to the ERK5-MKK5 interaction: it provides a special interface (in addition to the D-motif found in MKK5) through which MKK5 can specifically recognize its substrate ERK5. Although the molecular-level details are poorly known, MEKK2 and MEKK3 respond to certain developmental cues to direct endothel formation and cardiac morphogenesis. While also implicated in brain development, the embryonic lethality of ERK5 inactivation due to cardiac abnormalities underlines its central role in mammalian vasculogenesis. It is notable, that conditional knockout of ERK5 in adult animals is also lethal, due to the widespread disruption of endothelial barriers. Mutations in the upstream components of the ERK5 pathway (the CCM complex) are thought to underlie cerebral cavernous malformations in humans. In fungi MAPK pathways of fungi are also well studied. In yeast, the Fus3 MAPK is responsible for cell cycle arrest and mating in response to pheromone stimulation. The pheromone alpha-factor is sensed by a seven transmembrane receptor. The recruitment and activation of Fus3 pathway components are strictly dependent on heterotrimeric G-protein activation. The mating MAPK pathway consist of three tiers (Ste11-Ste7-Fus3), but the MAP2 and MAP3 kinases are shared with another pathway, the Kss1 or filamentous growth pathway. While Fus3 and Kss1 are closely related ERK-type kinases, yeast cells can still activate them separately, with the help of a scaffold protein Ste5 that is selectively recruited by the G-proteins of the mating pathway. The trick is that Ste5 can associate with and "unlock" Fus3 for Ste7 as a substrate in a tertiary complex, while it does not do the same for Kss1, leaving the filamentous growth pathway to be activated only in the absence of Ste5 recruitment. Fungi also have a pathway reminiscent of mammalian JNK/p38 signaling. This is the Hog1