Cover photograph (Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.): The J. C. C. van Speyk lighthouse towers high (37 m above sea level—quite an altitude by Dutch standards) above the town of Egmond aan Zee, The Netherlands, where for the third time running the triannual International Symposium on Lactic Acid Bacteria will be taking place. This event, which is being held for the ninth time, will host approximately 600 participants from all parts of the world and will cover all current ongoing research relating to lactic acid bacteria. (See related commentary on page 4589 and related articles on pages 4590-4781.)