A group of researchers at the USDA have isolated a new gram-positive bacterium related to Listeria ivanovii from a recent outbreak of food poisoning due to contaminated cheese. They have determined...

A group of researchers at the USDA have isolated a new gram-positive bacterium related to Listeria ivanovii from a recent outbreak of food poisoning due to contaminated cheese. They have determined that the wild-type bacterium can invade epithelial cells and spread from cell to cell. The researchers find that for intestinal epithelial cells, binding and uptake of L. ivanovii can be blocked by coincubation with galactose and lactose, as well as a mixture of crude gangliosides. Describe how they might go about experimentally identifying potential host cell surface receptors (glycolipids) involved in mediating the cellular uptake of the bacteria.