Fig. 5From: Signaling cascades transmit information downstream and upstream but unlikely simultaneouslyMotifs representing qualitatively conditions on the cascade’s main parameters (top left) optimizing the likelihood of each signaling regime. Graphical codes for the biochemical species: the triangle corresponds to input signal \({Y_{0}^{1}}\), the ellipses to total proteins Y iT or total phosphatases E iT , and the number and direction of the arrows on the segments represent the intensity of cycle activation (if downward arrows) or cycle deactivation (if upward arrows). Color: blue is for kinase, green for phosphatase; size: total concentration of the species; texture: shaded means saturated, empty unsaturated. Drawing of motifs is detailed in Additional file 3 Back to article page