Many allosteric proteins form homo-oligomeric complexes to regulate a biological function. In homo-oligomers, subunits establish communication pathways that are modulated by external stimuli like ligand binding. A challenge for dissecting the communication mechanisms in homo-oligomers is identifying intermediate liganded states, which are typically transiently populated. However, their identities provide the most mechanistic information on how ligand-induced signals propagate from bound to empty subunits. Here, we dissected the directionality and magnitude of subunit communication in a reengineered single-chain version of the homodimeric transcription factor cAMP receptor protein. By combining wild-type and mutant subunits in various asymmetric configurations, we revealed a linear relationship between the magnitude of cooperative effects and the number of mutant subunits. We found that a single mutation is sufficient to change the global allosteric behavior of the dimer even when one subunit was wild type. Dimers harboring two mutations with opposite cooperative effects had different allosteric properties depending on the arrangement of the mutations. When the two mutations were placed in the same subunit, the resulting cooperativity was neutral. In contrast, when placed in different subunits, the observed cooperativity was dominated by the mutation with strongest effects over cAMP affinity relative to wild type. These results highlight the distinct roles of intrasubunit interactions and intersubunit communication in allostery. Finally, dimers bound to either one or two cAMP molecules had similar DNA affinities, indicating that both asymmetric and symmetric liganded states activate DNA interactions. These studies have revealed the multiple communication pathways that homo-oligomers employ to transduce signals.Allosteric proteins are the basic building blocks in the transmission of biological signals, allowing communication between and within cells and from the extracellular environment to the cytosol (1). Because many allosteric proteins form homo-oligomeric complexes to modulate a ligand-induced biological response (2, 3), intersubunit communication must play a crucial role in the transduction of an allosteric signal (4, 5). Identifying the molecular mechanisms of intersubunit communication has important implications, from understanding how biological systems detect and transduce signals (6, 7) to reengineering of signaling proteins (8 -10) and to developing allosteric therapeutic modulators with enhanced affinities and specificities (11,12). Despite its importance, dissecting the mechanisms of transduction of allosteric signals from one protein subunit to another has proven difficult because it requires monitoring intermediate liganded states that are poorly populated, especially if the protein displays positive ligand binding cooperativity. Therefore, one of the remaining unresolved issues in allostery is dissecting the directionality of pathways of signal transmissions across protein subunits.A widely used s...