Synthesis of (-)-pinolidoxin: divergent synthetic strategy exploiting a common silacyclic precursor

reaction: see text] We describe a highly convergent and efficient synthesis of (-)-pinolidoxin, a potent modulator of plant pathogenesis, providing unambiguous determination of the relative and absolute stereostructure of this highly oxygenated fungal metabolite. Our unique strategy highlights the applications of novel silacyclic precursors for stereocontrolled polyol synthesis and features the finding of the reversible ring-closing metathesis.