Figure 3

The circuit response to the input signals μ₁ and μ₂.

(a) Two-parameter bifurcation phase diagram; where the two bifurcation parameters are the two input signals μ₁ (y-axis) and μ₂ (x-axis). Each phase, marked by a distinct color (shown in bottom), corresponds to a different combination of coexisting phenotypes (Phase plane diagrams for each phase are showed in Supplementary Fig. S4). (b) One-parameter bifurcation diagram when both μ₁ and μ₂ change simultaneously at the same rate, allowing them to merge into one parameter (here it is referred to as μ), as shown by the trajectory I in the two-parameter bifurcation phase diagram (Fig. 3a). (c) One-parameter bifurcation diagram for the circuit driven by varying levels of μ₁ for a fixed μ₂ = 4,000 molecules, corresponding to the trajectory II in the two-parameter bifurcation phase diagram (Fig. 3a). (d) One-parameter bifurcation diagram for the circuit driven by varying levels of μ₂ at a fixed μ₁ = 4,000 molecules, corresponding to the trajectory III in the two-parameter bifurcation phase diagram (Fig. 3a).