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The company, founded in 1994, is best known for its Canine Heritage XL Breed Test, which can determine the parentage of mixed-breed dogs from more than 100 breeds. A previous version identified 38 breeds.

The company recently started marketing its cattle technology on a wider scale through a partnership with agribusiness giant Cargill.

Edwin C. Quattlebaum, CEO of MetaMorphix, said farmers have no way of knowing how cattle will respond to various feeding systems and treat them all the same, while the new technology can cut costs by differentiating animals based on genes.

Using technology acquired from genomics pioneer Celera of Rockville, MetaMorphix developed its Genius – Whole Genome System to predict whether animals have the genetic potential to express certain traits, such as tenderness or marbling of fat production.

Facing a deficit of more than $30 million after years of research, the company anticipates significant revenues from commercializing the new system. MetaMorphix, with 47 employees, had revenues of close to $4.2 million in 2007, Quattlebaum said. The company has been struggling to raise $10 million within the next few months to stay in production.

The company reported assets of $10.9 million as of June 30, 2007, the date of its most recent financial report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, with liabilities of $31.9 million. The company posted a net loss of $4.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2007.

While other genetic processes focus on selection or breeding, the MetaMorphix system is the only one to concentrate on management and sorting, particularly individual management, said Ben Brophy, beef genomics commercialization manager for Cargill. Cargill has been researching the system since 2002 and has begun using it at its feedlots, which produce more than 650,000 animals each year. U.S. farmers produce roughly 40 million beef cattle per year.

Most pureblood cattle breeders use genetic tests because they are relatively inexpensive, averaging $25 per animal, said Scott Barao, executive director of the Maryland Cattlemen’s Association.

He said cattle farmers try to stay on the cutting edge of technology as tests become more sophisticated, but they are still a long way from knowing how all the genes interact.

The MetaMorphix system not only yields a higher quality of beef but customizes feeding methods in the most cost-efficient way, Brophy said. The technology also may help counter the trend of using growth-enhancing genetics that sacrifice meat quality for faster weight gain.

MetaMorphix already uses a similar system with pigs that focuses more on breeding through a partnership with Newsham Choice Genetics.

‘‘Our goal is to continuously improve stock,” said Jim Schirmer, director of marketing for Newsham. The MetaMorphix system enhances breeding techniques by exploring genetic traits for socialization, litter sizes, milking abilities and speed of weight gain, he said.

Schirmer said farmers using the system increase production efficiency and can provide an animal or meat designed for certain markets.

‘‘We’re revolutionizing breeding,” Quattlebaum said.

Genetic breeding technology is becoming more mainstream among swine breeders because they can set up breeding programs around a given trait instead of relying on luck or the law of averages, said Clint Schwab, director of community services for the National Swine Registry. He said with the swine industry losing more money per head each year, this technology is an important part of helping farmers survive. More than 100 million hogs are processed in the United States each year.

MetaMorphix is also working on another genetic partnership with chicken breeder Hubbard Farms and hopes to eventually enter all facets of the $1 trillion livestock production industry.

Because the MetaMorphix technology does not involve genetic manipulation and is based on genomic selection, the company can avoid federal regulatory hurdles.

Although company officials don’t expect its dog tests to generate as much revenue as the livestock tests, they believe the former will also contribute to the bottom line, especially with an upcoming marketing deal with Petco.

Quattlebaum said veterinarians encourage testing, as certain diseases and conditions are associated with specific breeds. The test retails for $119.

The company is considering joining the London Stock Exchange’s market for smaller companies, AIM, to gain better analyst coverage than it has on the Nasdaq.

‘‘With AIM, we’ll be a mid-size fish in a big pond, versus a piece of plankton in the ocean,” Quattlebaum said.