The 2008 Database Issue of *Nucleic Acids Research* is the fifteenth in a series dedicated to databases in the field of molecular biology. These databases are essential resources for experimental and computational biologists alike and this compilation provides descriptions and updates of the most important of these databases, and serves to introduce newly compiled resources that provide specialist information in the biological area. The current issue presents 98 new databases (30 more than last year) and updates for 84 existing databases. The 2008 Database Issue is not included in the print subscription to *NAR*. Instead, the Database Issue is freely available online to all under *NAR*\'s open access model. However, print copies are available for separate purchase by institutions and individuals.

Michael Galperin has continued to produce and enlarge the Molecular Biology Database Collection, a compendium of databases that includes all those databases described in *Nucleic Acids Research*, as well as selected other databases relevant to biologists. NAR Online contains links to all of the databases in the compilation as well as brief summaries of their content. Individuals who wish to have their database listed in the Molecular Biology Database Collection or update a previous submission to the collection should contact Dr Michael Galperin directly (<nardatabase@gmail.com>).

After 5 years as the Database Issue Editor I am stepping down. It has been my great pleasure to watch the growth of so many wonderful database resources and to help provide a forum for describing this important work. I am very pleased to announce that Michael Galperin will take over editing the next Database Issue.

ALL authors wishing to submit articles for the 2008 Database Issue MUST contact Dr M. Galperin (<nardatabase@gmail.com>) with a pre-submission enquiry, no later than July 1, 2008, to check whether a submission will be suitable for the issue. The pre-submission enquiry must present a working web accessible database for review by the Editor. Articles describing new databases will need to be received by August 15, 2008 at the latest, and should be prepared according to the instructions on the *Nucleic Acids Research* website (<http://nar.oupjournals.org/>). Authors who are submitting articles providing update information on databases that have previously been featured in *Nucleic Acids Research* should note that the deadline for submission of those articles is September 15, 2008.

The database issue would not be possible without timely reports from hundreds of reviewers. Thanks to you all! I would also like to thank Deborah Wardle for excellent editorial assistance. Finally, I would like to thank Claire Bird, and the rest of the team at Oxford University Press for producing this important issue.
