Figure 3.

Effects of coaggregation on NA area. Bifurcation diagrams of equilibrium adhesion area A^∗ with respect to (A) C_I, (B) C_P, and (C) [Ligand] are given, showing branches of stable (solid lines) and unstable (dashed lines) steady states separated by thresholds defined by transcritical bifurcation points (open circles). The bifurcation points occur when C_I = $C_I^{‡}$ in (A), C_P = $C_P^{‡}$ in (B), and [Ligand] = [Ligand]^‡ in (C). The stable branches represent the (un)clustered steady states (before) after the threshold. Notice that increasing C_I leads to a saturating response, eventually plateauing at A^∞ (dotted line in A), whereas increasing C_P leads to an unbounded growth in adhesion area (B). Increasing [Ligand] also produces a saturating response, plateauing at ${\overline{A}}^{\text{∗}}<A^{\infty }$ (C).