____ is a seaweed-based thickening agent found in many foods.

noun

1. A gelatinous colloidal extract of a red alga (as of the genera Gelidium, Gracilaria, and Eucheuma) used especially in culture media or as a gelling and stabilizing agent in foods
2. A culture medium containing agar

noun

1. Agar

noun

1. A usually sterile petri dish filled with a prepared solid growth medium of agar mixed with nutrients

   "The vector will replicate within the bacteria that are then spread onto the surface of an agar plate."