The antibiotic elansolid B1 was prepared by a convergent strategy that relied on a highly diastereoselective, biomimetic intramolecular Diels-Alder cycloaddition (IMDA) that furnished the tetrahydroindane unit. Other key features are a double Sonogashira cross-coupling and a substrate-controlled Yamamoto aldol reaction.
Molecular Basis of Elansolid Biosynthesis: Evidence for an Unprecedented Quinone Methide Initiated Intramolecular Diels-Alder Cycloaddition/Macrolactonization
steps in the biosynthesis of elansolide A1, a new and structurally unique polyketide metabolite from the gliding bacterium Chitinophaga sancti, have been elucidated from feeding experiments, by analysis of the biosynthetic gene cluster, and through the synthesis of model substrates. These steps include an unprecedented dehydration reaction, an intramolecularDiels–Aldercycloaddition (IMDA), and an