Antiterminator proteins control gene expression by recognizing control signals near the promoter and preventing transcriptional termination which would otherwise occur at sites that may be a long way downstream. The N protein of bacteriophage lambda recognizes a sequence in the nascent RNA, and modifies RNA polymerase by catalysing the formation of a stable ribonucleoprotein complex on its surface, whereas the lambda Q protein recognizes a sequence in the DNA. These mechanisms of antitermination in lambda provide models for analysing antitermination in viruses such as HIV-1 and in eukaryotic genes.