Squaramide Organocatalyzed Addition of a Masked Acyl Cyanide to ß-Nitrostyrenes.

A method for the squaramide-organocatalyzed enantioselective addition of a silyl-protected masked acyl cyanide (MAC) reagent to various ß-nitrostyrenes is described. Reactions are carried out in a freezer and provide products cleanly and in high enantioselectivities at very low catalyst loadings. Adducts are then unmasked, providing various oxidation state 3 functional groups, thereby highlighting the utility of these MAC reagents and a new strategy for the preparation of ß-amino acids.

Genome Sequence of Mycobacterium Phage Waterfoul.

Waterfoul is a newly isolated temperate siphovirus of Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155. It was identified as a member of the K5 cluster of Mycobacterium phages and has a 61,248-bp genome with 95 predicted genes.