Free energy diagram for the conformational spread model a) symmectric case: the free energy of conformational change is ±E_A.

The free energy of CheY-P binding is dependent on the CheY-P concentration as shown, with E_C = −ln(c/c_0.5). If E_C>0, the inactive state becomes more highly populated and hence CW bias <0.5, while E_C<0 similarly implies CW bias >0.5. b) asymmetric case: the free energy of conformational change is ±E_A⁰ when a protomer is unliganded and ±E_A¹ when it is liganded. c) coupling energy E_J between neighboring protomers.