We describe a method that allows salicylaldehyde derivatives to be coupled with a wide range of unactivated alkenes at catalyst loadings as low as 2 mol%. A chiral phosphoramidite ligand and the precise stoichiometry of heterogeneous base are key for high catalytic activity and linear regioselectivity. This protocol was applied in the atom-and step-economical synthesis of eight biologically active octaketide natural products, ...
