Document:

[***Confidential Treatment Requested. Confidential portions of this agreement
     have been redacted and have been separately filed with the Commission]

                           SWINE IMPROVEMENT AGREEMENT

     This  agreement,  effective  this  1st of  June,  2004,  is by and  between
Monsanto Company, a Delaware corporation having its primary place of business at
800 North Lindbergh  Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63167  ("Monsanto"),  and MetaMorphix,
Inc.,  a Delaware  corporation  having its  primary  place of  business at 8510A
Corridor  Rd.,  Savage,  MD 20763  ("MMI"),  and  shall be  effective  as of the
Effective Date.

                                   BACKGROUND

     A.   MMI has expertise in applied  genomic and proteomic  technologies  for
          optimization  of livestock and has developed  information on the swine
          genome.

     B.   Monsanto  is in the  business  of  breeding  swine and  licensing  the
          resulting  swine genetics to swine producers and other entities in the
          pork value chain (the "Swine Business"),  and conducts research in the
          areas of swine  genomics,  QTL  discovery  and fine  mapping,  and the
          practical application of marker-assisted selection in swine.

     C.   Monsanto desires to obtain a license to MMI's technology  related to a
          swine  genome  and use it to improve  its  breeding  business  and the
          resulting swine genetics for certain Traits.

     D.   MMI desires to grant such a license to Monsanto  under certain  terms.

                                    AGREEMENT

     In consideration of the covenants, conditions, and undertakings hereinafter
set forth, it is agreed by and between the parties as follows:

     1. DEFINITIONS

     1.1 "AFFILIATE" means any corporation,  association,  partnership, or other
entity which  directly or  indirectly  controls,  is  controlled  by or is under
common control with the party in question (but, in respect to MMI,  excluding PE
Corporation  (NY) and Applera  Corporation,  itself  and/or  acting  through its
Celera Genomics Group).

     1.2 "BASE YEAR REVENUE" means the amount calculated as shown in
          Attachment A.

     1.3  "CELERA LICENSE AGREEMENT" means that February 28, 2002 Livestock
          Database License Agreement, as amended.

     1.4  "COMMERCIALLY  EXPLOIT"  means to make,  have  made,  propagate,  have
propagated,  use,  have used,  import,  or export a Product  for the  purpose of
selling or offering to sell such Product.  "Commercial  Exploitation"  means the
act of Commercially Exploiting a Product.

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     1.5 "CONFIDENTIAL  INFORMATION"  means (i) the terms and conditions of this
Agreement,  (ii)  any  proprietary  or  confidential  information  or  material,
including all trade secrets, in tangible form disclosed hereunder that is marked
as  "Confidential" at the time it is delivered to the receiving party, and (iii)
proprietary  or  confidential  information  or  material,  including  all  trade
secrets,  disclosed  orally  hereunder  which is identified as  confidential  or
proprietary  when disclosed and such disclosure of  confidential  information is
confirmed in writing (or by facsimile or email)  within  thirty (30) days by the
disclosing  party;  PROVIDED  HOWEVER,  that the above  information shall not be
deemed Confidential Information, to the extent the receiving party can establish
by competent written proof that such information:

          1.5.1 was already  known to the receiving  party,  other than under an
obligation  of  confidentiality  owed to the  disclosing  party,  at the time of
disclosure;

          1.5.2 was generally  available to the public or otherwise  part of the
public domain at the time of its disclosure hereunder to the receiving party;

          1.5.3 becomes  generally  available to the public or otherwise part of
the  public  domain  after its  disclosure  and other  than  through  any act or
omission of the receiving party in breach of this Agreement;

          1.5.4  is  independently  developed  by the  receiving  party  without
reference to any Confidential Information disclosed by the disclosing party; or

          1.5.5 was  subsequently  disclosed to the receiving  party by a person
other than the disclosing  party without  breach of any legal  obligation to the
disclosing party.

     1.6 "CONTROL" means:

          1.6.1 as to  third  party  Confidential  Information  or  Intellectual
Property  that is  in-licensed  by a party,  the  possession  of the  ability to
disclose or grant the licenses or  sublicenses  as provided  for herein  without
violating the terms of any agreement or other  arrangement with any third party;
and

          1.6.2 as to the prosecution of patent applications, the maintenance of
patent rights,  and the  enforcement  and/or  defense of patent rights,  Control
includes the authority to select legal counsel,  solicit other expert advice and
assistance,   and  to  make  decisions  pertaining  to  the  conduct  of  patent
prosecution,    interferences,    patent   issuance,    maintenance,    reissue,
reexamination,  patent enforcement or defense, as applicable.

          (a) In the  context  of patent  prosecution  and  patent  maintenance,
Control also includes the  authority to authorize and oversee the  assessment of
patentability,  the preparation and filing of a patent application, to authorize
a claim  amendment or the  cancellation or addition of a claim, to authorize the
payment of an issue fee,  maintenance fee, or patent annuity.

          (b) In the context of patent  enforcement or defense,  Control further
includes the authority to file and conduct a lawsuit, to offer a settlement, and
to accept or reject a proposed settlement.

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     1.7 "DAIRY  FIELD"  means the  breeding  of bovine  breeds used in the U.S.
primarily for dairy purposes.

     1.8 "EFFECTIVE DATE" means the date first written above.

     1.9 "IMPROVEMENTS" means discoveries and inventions related to the genetics
of animals that are  discovered or developed  through access to the MMI Database
by  Monsanto's  or its  Affiliates'  employees or  consultants,  with or without
contribution to their conception from employees or consultants of MMI.

     1.10 "INTELLECTUAL  PROPERTY" means generally any and all right, title, and
interest in, arising from, or relating to inventions,  ideas, know-how, works of
authorship,  and confidential  information,  including  copyrights,  patents and
patent   applications,   trade   secrets,   trademarks,   service   marks,   any
registrations,  or applications relating to any of the foregoing,  and any other
rights of a similar  nature or  character  whether  now  existing  or  hereafter
created, developed, arising, or otherwise coming into being.

     1.11 "LICENSING  COSTS" means the costs actually  expended to establish and
maintain a value  recognition  and/or  collection  system in a given  geography.
Examples  of such  out-of  pocket  costs  are  consultants'  fees,  legal  fees,
governmental fees, and travel costs, but do not include salaries or any overhead
for employees or facilities.

     1.12 "MEAT QUALITY  REVENUES" means the net royalties paid to Monsanto,  an
Affiliate, or a Sublicensee,  by a pork meat packing entity for the value of the
Meat Quality Trait(s) in meat processed by that entity. Gross royalties shall be
reduced by any rebates, discounts, or commissions to determine net royalties.

     1.13 "MEAT  QUALITY  TRAIT" means a Trait which is  manifested  by improved
meat quality, for example, pH, color, water holding capacity, marbling, texture,
tenderness, and similar meat quality attributes.

     1.14 "MMI" has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

     1.15 "MMI DATABASE" means swine genomics information owned or controlled by
MMI, including porcine sequence reads and consensus sequence,  identification of
the  animal/breed  from which each sequence was derived,  sequence  contig files
identifying   the   approximately   631,000   "IN  SILICO"   single   nucleotide
polymorphisms (SNPs), and comparative sequence analysis from which approximately
217,000 porcine SNPs with synteny to human sequences were identified.

     1.16 "MMI  INTELLECTUAL  PROPERTY" means the  Intellectual  Property owned,
Controlled,  or  sublicensable by MMI at or after the Effective Date that (i) is
necessary to the effective access to the MMI Database by Monsanto, including the
complete information on the MMI Database, or (ii) is relevant to the development
and/or commercialization of Meat Quality Traits or Production Traits in swine.

     1.17 "MMI SUBLICENSE REVENUES" means the total payments received by MMI for
(i)  sublicenses  to  use  Improvements  or  Intellectual   Property   embodying
Improvements and (ii) the

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revenue from the sale of goods or the provision of services (less actual costs),
which goods or services are made or used by applying or using an  Improvement  .
Any goods or  services,  as well as cash or debt,  paid by any party in exchange
for the rights received in a sublicense to Improvements  shall be considered MMI
Sublicense  Revenues.  Revenues  shall not begin to  accumulate  for purposes of
calculating  royalties  due to Monsanto  until such time as MMI has recouped the
associated Licensing Costs, if any.

     1.18 "MONSANTO" has the meaning set forth in the Preamble.

     1.19  "MONSANTO  LICENSE  REVENUES"  means the total  payments  received by
Monsanto for licenses to unrelated third parties under Intellectual Property for
Improvements in the Swine Field,  which licenses do not include the use of swine
breeding  stock owned or  controlled  by Monsanto  or its  Affiliates  or do not
involve the provision of Products by Monsanto or its  Affiliates.  Revenues from
such  licenses  that do  include  the  use of  swine  breeding  stock  owned  or
controlled by Monsanto or its Affiliates or do involve the provision of Products
by Monsanto  or its  Affiliates  are  intended to be included in the terms "Meat
Quality Revenues" and "Production  Royalty Revenue." Revenues shall not begin to
accumulate for purposes of  calculating  royalties due to MMI until such time as
Monsanto has recouped the associated Licensing Costs, if any.

     1.20 "North America" means the countries of Canada,  Mexico, and the United
States of America.

     1.21 "Other World Areas" means all countries outside of North America.

     1.22  "Prime  Rate" means the base  lending  rate on  corporate  loans from
commercial banks, as published from time to time in The Wall Street Journal.

     1.23 "PRODUCT" means any method,  service,  or activity performed by or for
Monsanto  through  the use of an  Improvement  or any  animal or animal  part or
product,  such  as  semen  or  embryos,  produced  by or  for  Monsanto  or  its
Sublicensees through the use of an Improvement.

     1.24 "PRODUCTION  ROYALTY REVENUE" means the amount  calculated as shown in
Attachment A.

     1.25  "PRODUCTION  TRAIT"  means a Trait  manifested  by sow  productivity,
growth efficiency, disease resistance, or leanness in swine.

     1.26 "RESTRICTED LINE PRODUCTS" means the boars, gilts,  embryos, or semen,
from any source,  used by Monsanto to generate  weaned pig royalties  from swine
producers.

     1.27 "SUBLICENSEE" means a third party who has been granted a sublicense.

     1.28 "SWINE BUSINESS" has the meaning given in the Preamble.

     1.29 "SWINE FIELD" means the activities  and genetics  useful in production
of swine and products derived from swine.

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     1.30 "Trait" means any biochemical, physiological, or physical attribute or
phenotype of an animal.

     2. LICENSE GRANTS.

          2.1 License to Monsanto.

          2.1.1  Subject  to the terms and  conditions  of this  Agreement,  MMI
grants to Monsanto an exclusive,  worldwide,  royalty-bearing  license under MMI
Intellectual  Property,  including the right to access the MMI Database,  in the
Swine Field. Subject to full payment under Section 3.1, this license constitutes
a partial,  field-restricted  sublicense  to access and use  certain  rights and
technology licensed by MMI from Applera Corporation, through its Celera Genomics
Group,  and as  successor  to PE  Corporation  (NY)  under  the  Celera  License
Agreement. Monsanto shall not have the right to grant sublicenses for either (a)
MMI Intellectual Property or (b) access to MMI Database, but notwithstanding the
foregoing,  shall be free to Commercially  Exploit in any way the  Improvements,
including ,any genotypic markers  discovered  through access to the MMI Database
and MMI Intellectual Property.  Access to the MMI Database shall be accomplished
by MMI's delivery of an electronic  version  thereof,  including the information
listed in Attachment C.

          2.1.2 Any license granted hereunder with respect to any portion of the
MMI.  Intellectual  Property that is licensed by MMI from a third party shall be
subject to any terms, conditions,  or restrictions,  other than financial terms,
included in such third party license of which MMI notifies  Monsanto in writing.
For any  pre-existing  third-party  agreements,  such notice  shall be delivered
prior to the execution of this Agreement. Monsanto has no obligation to accept a
sublicense under an agreement  executed by MMI after the Effective Date. MMI has
no obligation to obtain any rights that are transferable to Monsanto  hereunder.
MMI shall make any payments arising under any such third party license.

          2.1.3 In the event Monsanto has not begun  Commercial  Exploitation in
North America within five (5) years of the Effective  Date, the license  granted
to Monsanto under MMI Intellectual  Property,  including the right to access the
MMI Database,  shall become nonexclusive;  and thereafter,  MMI shall be free to
grant any  nonexclusive  license  under  MMI  Intellectual  Property  or the MMI
Database to any third party in the Swine Field.

     2.2 MONSANTO'S GRANT BACK OBLIGATION OUTSIDE THE SWINE FIELD.

          2.2.1   Monsanto   agrees   to  grant   and   hereby   grants  to  MMI
royalty-bearing  exclusive,  worldwide  licenses to use Improvements in any area
outside of the Swine Field,  subject to the right of Monsanto in the Dairy Field
as set forth in subsection 2.2.2 below. Such license shall be fully transferable
by assignment,  sublicense or any other means.  The parties agree that they will
negotiate   adjustments  to  the  definition  of  MMI  Sublicense  Revenues  for
circumstances  in which MMI combines an  Improvement  with its own  Intellectual
Property in granting a sublicense or selling a good or service.  The adjustments
shall be negotiated on the basis of the  proportion of the  contribution  of the
relevant Improvement(s) to the value of the business that MMI has established or
intends to establish or the total  technology  to be  licensed/sublicensed  to a
third party.

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          2.2.2 Prior to the grant of a  sublicense  from MMI to any third party
for the use of any Improvement in the Dairy Field,  MMI shall notify Monsanto in
writing prior to the grant of a sublicense to a third party of the terms of such
proposed  sublicense  (the  "Notice").  If Monsanto  so desires,  MMI shall then
exclusively  negotiate  with  Monsanto for a period of ninety (90) days from the
Notice date to attempt to reach  agreement on terms for an exclusive  license to
Monsanto for the same  Improvement(s) in the Dairy Field. If Monsanto and MMI do
not reach such an agreement and thereafter MMI offers, or receives an offer for,
a license for the same  Improvement(s)  in the Dairy Field to/from a third party
with  terms  different  from that last  offered  Monsanto  during  the  previous
exclusive  negotiation  period, MMI shall,  before entering into such a license,
offer the same terms  Monsanto  shall have  ninety (90) days to accept or reject
the offer.  For clarity,  any proposed  license on terms that are different from
those  previously  offered  to  Monsanto  at any time must  first be  offered to
Monsanto,  which  shall have  ninety  (90) days to accept or reject the  offered
license terms.

          2.2.3  Notwithstanding  any other  provision  of this  Agreement,  any
license  granted  pursuant to Section  2.2.1 shall  survive any  termination  or
expiration of this  Agreement and shall remain fully  enforceable  thereafter so
long as MMI makes required royalty payments.

          2.2.4 The licenses  granted under Section 2.2.1 shall terminate if MMI
has not Commercially  Exploited the relevant Improvements within five years from
the dates on which the relevant  Improvement(s)  has been disclosed to MMI under
Section 2.4.1.

     2.3  MONSANTO'S GRANT BACK OBLIGATION AND MMI'S LICENSING RIGHTS INSIDE THE
SWINE FIELD.

          2.3.1 If Monsanto's license under Section 2.1 has become  nonexclusive
as provided in Section 2.1.3,  Monsanto  shall,  upon request from MMI, grant to
MMI a nonexclusive license in a given country for any Improvement which Monsanto
is not  then  Commercially  Exploiting  in  that  country.  However,  Commercial
Exploitation  of the Improvement in any country of North America shall be deemed
to be Commercial  Exploitation  in all countries of North America,  and further,
Monsanto  shall be deemed to be  Commercially  Exploiting an  Improvement in all
major export  countries for primal meat  components  of swine from  countries in
which Monsanto's, its Affiliates, or its licensees are actually selling Products
embodying the Improvement.

          2.3.2  The   license   to  MMI  under  this   Section   2.3  shall  be
royalty-bearing under, the terms of Section 3.2.2 of this Agreement.

          2.3.3  Notwithstanding  any other  provision  of this  Agreement,  any
license  granted  pursuant to Section  2.3.1 shall  survive any  termination  or
expiration of this  Agreement  and shall only  terminate or expire under its own
terms.

     2.4 COLLABORATION BY THE PARTIES.

          2.4.1 The  parties  intend  that  Monsanto's  use of MMI  Intellectual
Property and the  development of  Improvements  based thereon be a collaborative
effort along the lines of the work plan set forth in  Attachment  B, the details
of which are not binding on either party. To that end, each party agrees to form
a team that will work toward achieving the mutual goal of

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effective use of the MMI Database by Monsanto for their mutual benefit. The team
members will be the key technical  interface  between Monsanto and MMI. The team
will meet (a) during the first six months  following the Effective Date at least
once each month and (b)  thereafter  at least once per  calendar  quarter.  More
frequent  meetings can be  requested by either party and  agreement to meet will
not be unreasonably  withheld  providing that sufficient notice is given and the
location  or means for a meeting is  reasonable.  The  parties  agree the use of
telephone or video conferencing is an acceptable means for a meeting.  It is the
intent of the parties that such  meetings  shall  include  discussions  of MMI's
technical effort on and  contribution to the making of Improvements,  Monsanto's
progress  in  making  Improvements,  and  Monsanto's  plans  for  filing  patent
applications  for such  Improvements.  The parties shall disclose to each other,
inventions and  discoveries  related to or based on the MMI Database for so long
as Monsanto  has access to the MMI  Database,  provided,  however,  that neither
party will disclose any information  which is the confidential  information of a
third party without the prior permission of the receiver and that third party.

          2.4.2 MMI  agrees to  provide  Monsanto,  upon  reasonable  request by
Monsanto, to the extent available, bioinformatics and mapping support related to
Monsanto's  access to the MMI Database.  Such  bioinformatics  activities  would
include  conducting useful sequence  comparisons  between the full complement of
porcine  sequences  and human  and  other  animal  sequences  available  to MMI.
Comparisons  shall be made to sequences of other  non-human  species only to the
extent that it does not conflict with  species-specific  contractual  agreements
between MMI and a third  party.  For  example,  sequences  found to be linked to
traits in other animals or humans could be compared to MMI's porcine sequence to
identify  potentially  useful  porcine  SNPs.  In  addition,  MMI would  provide
consulting  services to Monsanto,  including  applying the experience of working
with other  licensees of MMI  Intellectual  Property.  Nothing in this Agreement
gives  Monsanto  any  access or rights to  Celera's  Celera  Discovery  SystemTM
software and Internet  delivery system and its "CDS  subscription"  DNA sequence
information.

          2.4.3 Monsanto  shall provide copies to MMI of any patent  application
to be filed on an  Improvement,  at least  fourteen (14) days prior to filing to
allow  MMI  to  make  comments  on  the  application.  After  the  filing  of an
application,  Monsanto shall promptly,  upon request of MMI,  provide to MMI any
information  necessary and useful for MMI to exercise its rights with respect to
Improvements.  In the event that Monsanto  desires to abandon a patent or patent
application  which claims an  Improvement,  Monsanto shall first offer to assign
such  patent or  application  to MMI at no cost to MMI other  than the costs for
preparing  documents,   recording  assignments,   and  any  taxes  due  on  such
assignments.  The failure of MMI to respond to such an offer in thirty (30) days
may be deemed by Monsanto to be a rejection of the offer.

     3. PAYMENTS.

          3.1  ACCESS  FEES.  Within  thirty  (30) days of the  Effective  Date,
Monsanto shall pay MMI Five Hundred Thousand Dollars  ($500,000).  Within thirty
(30) days of delivery of the electronic  version of the MMI Database required in
Section 2.1.1, Monsanto shall pay MMI Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000).

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          3.2 ROYALTY PAYMENTS.

              3.2.1 BY MONSANTO.

                    (a)  Monsanto  shall  pay to MMI *** of the sum of (i)  Meat
Quality Revenues,  (ii) Production Royalty Revenues less Base Year Revenues, and
(iii)  Monsanto  License  Revenues.  If the resulting  product is less than zero
because the value of Production Royalty Revenues less Base Year Revenues is less
than zero,  the product shall be used as a credit  against  royalties due in the
following quarter(s) until the credit is depleted.

                    (b) In the event that MMI has a right to grant a  sublicense
to any  Improvement(s)  in the Swine Field under Section 2.3, Monsanto shall pay
to MMI *** of Monsanto License  Revenues derived from license  royalties for the
same Improvement(s) from the same countries for which MMI holds a right.

                    (c) Beginning in the calendar  year which  contains the date
which is seven (7) years from the Effective  Date and each year  thereafter,  if
the total  payments  from Monsanto to MMI under this Section 3.2.1 do not exceed
*** in the calendar year,  Monsanto shall pay the difference  between the earned
royalties  of  subparagraphs  (a) and (b) above and *** with the payment due for
the last quarter of that year; provided, however, that if Monsanto elects not to
pay this difference, then the provisions of Section 10.6 shall apply and Section
10.3 shall not apply.

              3.2.2  BY MMI.  MMI  shall  pay to Monsanto *** of  MMI Sublicense
Revenues.

          3.3 ROYALTY  PERIOD.  Except as provided  in Section  3.4,  Monsanto's
obligation  to pay  royalties to MMI and MMI's  obligation  to pay  royalties to
Monsanto shall continue for each  Improvement  for ten (10) years from the first
date  Monsanto or a licensee  commences  Commercial  Exploitation  based on that
Improvement,  but, on a  country-by-country  basis,  the  obligation is extended
until the  expiration of all claims in MMI  Intellectual  Property or Monsanto's
Intellectual  Property which  dominate the making,  using or selling of Products
based on the relevant Improvement. MMI's obligation to pay royalties to Monsanto
shall  continue on a country by country basis until such time as Monsanto has no
pending or granted patent rights for the licensed Improvement(s).

          3.4  SUSPENSION  OF  MONSANTO'S  ROYALTY  OBLIGATION.  If at  the  MMI
Database or a  substantial  portion of the contents of the MMI Database  becomes
available to third parties through no fault of Monsanto,  Monsanto's obligations
to pay royalties  under Section 3.2.1 shall be suspended and reduced to zero for
so long as this condition  exists. If MMI is able to return Monsanto's access to
the MMI Database to an exclusive access,  then Monsanto  obligations under 3.2.1
shall be  reinstated as of the first day of the  following  month.  No royalties
which might have been due during the  suspension  period shall accrue or ever be
due by Monsanto to MMI.

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          4. PAYMENTS; BOOKS AND RECORDS.

          4.1  ROYALTY REPORTS AND PAYMENTS.

              4.1.1 After the first commercial  sale, by Monsanto,  an Affiliate
or a Sublicensee,  of a Product,  Monsanto shall deliver  written reports to MMI
for each calendar  quarter within sixty (60) days after the end of such quarter,
stating in each such report the Meat Quality  Revenues,  the Production  Royalty
Revenues, and all Licensing Costs, and the calculation of royalties due thereon.
With each such report, the royalties due for the reported quarter shall be paid.

              4.1.2  After the first  commercial  sale of a Product  by MMI,  an
Affiliate or a Sublicensee,  MMI shall deliver  written  reports to Monsanto for
each  calendar  quarter  within  sixty (60) days after the end of such  quarter,
stating in each such report the MMI Sublicensing  Revenues  recognized by MMI in
the previous quarter,  all Licensing Costs, and the calculation of royalties due
thereon. With each such report, the royalties due for the reported quarter shall
be paid.

              4.1.3  Upon  March 31,  2005,  and upon each  March 31  thereafter
(until  reports  commence  under  Section  4.1.1),  Monsanto  and MMI shall each
calculate  and  report  in detail  (with  back-up)  to the  other the  amount of
Licensing Costs that have arisen on or before the immediately preceding December
31.

          4.2 PAYMENT  METHOD.  All payments due under this  Agreement  shall be
made by check or by bank wire transfer in immediately  available funds to a bank
account  designated by the payee.  All payments  hereunder shall be made in U.S.
dollars.  If the due date of any  payment  is a  Saturday,  Sunday  or  national
holiday, such payment may be paid on the following business day.

          4.3 LATE PAYMENT PENALTIES.  Interest shall accrue on any late payment
owed  hereunder  not made within ten (10) days of the date such  payment is due,
including  late payments of access fees,  royalties,  and  underpayments  to the
extent such  underpayment  determinations  are made by a mediator or  arbitrator
pursuant  to Section  11, at an  interest  rate equal to the lesser of the Prime
Rate plus two percent (2%) or the highest  rate  permissible  by law,  with such
interest  accruing  from the date the payment was  originally  due, and any late
payment pursuant to this Section shall be credited first to interest and then to
any  outstanding  fees.  This Section shall in no way limit any other rights and
remedies  available to MMI or Monsanto,  whether arising under this Agreement or
at law or in equity.

          4.4 CURRENCY CONVERSIONS. If any currency conversion shall be required
in connection with the calculation of royalties hereunder, such conversion shall
be made using the selling  exchange rate for conversion of the foreign  currency
into U.S. Dollars,  quoted for current transactions  reported in Reuters for the
second to last business day of the month prior to the month in which Monsanto or
MMI or a respective  Affiliate,  as  applicable,  received such payment.  Should
royalties  earned in certain  countries  not be eligible  for payment  from that
country,  the party owing the royalties shall pay the other party the equivalent
of such royalties due in U.S. Dollars from other sources of funds.

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          4.5  RECORDS AND  INSPECTION.  Each party and its  Affiliates  and its
Licensees/Sublicensees  shall keep complete,  true and accurate books of account
and records for the purpose of  determining  the royalty  amounts  payable under
this  Agreement.  Such books and records shall be kept at the party's  principal
place of business, for at least three (3) years following the end of the six (6)
month period to which they pertain. The books and records of each party (and its
Affiliates  and  Sublicensee)  shall be open for  inspection  by the other party
during such three (3) year period by a public accounting firm for whom the party
to be inspected has no reasonable objection, solely for the purpose of verifying
royalty  statements  hereunder.  Such  inspections may be made no more than once
each calendar year, at reasonable  times and on reasonable  notice.  Inspections
conducted under this Section 4.5 shall be at the requesting  party's expense and
may  not be  conducted  on a  contingent  fee  basis;  PROVIDED,  HOWEVER,  if a
variation  or error  producing  an increase  exceeding  five percent (5%) of the
royalty amount stated for any period covered by the inspection is established in
the course of any such  inspection,  then all  reasonable  costs relating to the
inspection for such period and any unpaid  amounts that are discovered  shall be
paid  promptly by the  audited  party to the  requesting  party,  together  with
interest thereon from the date such payments were due at the lesser of the Prime
Rate plus two  percent  (2%) or the highest  rate  permissible  by law,  and any
payment  pursuant to this  Section 4.5 shall be credited  first to interest  and
then to any outstanding royalties.

          4.6 TAX MATTERS. All royalty amounts and other payments required to be
paid pursuant to this Agreement  shall be paid without  deduction  therefrom for
withholding  for or on  account of any sales tax,  use tax,  value-added  tax or
other tax or governmental charge.

          5. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

          5.1 INVENTORSHIP AND TITLE.

              5.1.1   Inventorship   and  rights  of  ownership   and  title  to
Improvements  shall be determined in accordance with applicable law and shall be
promptly assigned to Monsanto.

              5.1.2 As between the parties,  title to all Intellectual  Property
in existence  prior to the Effective  Date shall remain in the name of the owner
as of that date,  unless  transferred  by a separate act of  assignment  by that
owner.  Except for the  obligation  of Monsanto  in Section  2.2.3 and of MMI in
Section  5.1.1,  nothing in this  Agreement  shall be construed as  transferring
title, or an obligation to transfer title, to any Intellectual Property.

          5.2  DEFENSE  OF  PATENT  RIGHTS.  MMI  shall  Control  and be  solely
responsible  for all matters  including  the costs  related to the  prosecution,
maintenance,  enforcement and defense of the MMI Intellectual  Property licensed
to Monsanto hereunder.  Monsanto shall Control and be solely responsible for all
matters including the costs related to the prosecution, maintenance, enforcement
and defense of the patent rights for Improvements,  subject to the provisions of
Subsection  2.2.3.  Neither MMI nor Monsanto shall have the right to enforce any
patent right of the other party or its Affiliates.

                                       10

<PAGE>

          6. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES; DISCLAIMERS.
          6.1  REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES.

              6.1.1 BY MMI. MMI warrants and  represents to Monsanto that (i) it
has the full  right and  authority  to enter into this  Agreement  and grant the
rights and licenses  granted  herein;  (ii) as of the Effective  Date and to the
knowledge of MMI, there are no existing or threatened actions,  suits, or claims
pending  against  it with  respect to its right to enter  into and  perform  its
obligations under this Agreement;  and (iii) MMI has not previously granted, and
shall not grant any  rights in or to the MMI  Intellectual  Property  or the MMI
Database  to a third party in  conflict  with the rights or licenses  granted to
Monsanto under this Agreement.

              6.1.2 BY MONSANTO.  Monsanto  warrants and  represents to MMI that
(i) it has the full right and authority to enter into this Agreement, (ii) as of
the Effective  Date and to the  knowledge of Monsanto,  there are no existing or
threatened  actions,  suits or claims pending  against it with respect to either
(a) its right to enter into and perform its obligations  under this Agreement or
(b) its ability to utilize Monsanto's issued patents in furtherance of its Swine
Business; and (iii) Monsanto has not previously granted, and shall not grant any
right, license or interest in or to Improvements, in conflict with the rights or
licenses granted (or to be granted) to MMI under this Agreement.

          6.2 DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES.  EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED IN SECTION
6.1, MMI AND MONSANTO EACH EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTIES,  INCLUDING WITHOUT
LIMITATION  ANY IMPLIED  WARRANTIES  OF  MERCHANTABILITY,  NON-INFRINGEMENT,  OR
FITNESS FOR A  PARTICULAR  PURPOSE,  OR ANY  WARRANTY  THAT ANY PATENT  LICENSED
HEREUNDER SHALL BE VALID OR ENFORCEABLE.  EACH PARTY ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT IS NOT
RELYING ON ANY  WARRANTIES  OTHER THAN THOSE SET FORTH IN SECTION 6.1.  MONSANTO
RECOGNIZES THAT CELERA HAS MADE NO WARRANTIES TO MMI.

          7. CONFIDENTIALITY.

          7.1  CONFIDENTIAL  INFORMATION.  Except as expressly  provided in this
Agreement, the parties covenant and agree that, for so long as this Agreement is
in effect and for five (5) years  thereafter,  the  receiving  party  shall keep
completely  confidential  and shall not publish or otherwise  disclose and shall
not use for any purpose except for the purposes  contemplated  by this Agreement
any  Confidential  Information  furnished to it by the  disclosing  party hereto
pursuant  to this  Agreement.  Without  limitation  upon any  provision  of this
Agreement, each of the parties hereto shall be responsible for the observance by
its  employees  and others (to the extent  permitted  under  Section 7.2) of the
confidentiality  obligations  set forth in this  Section  7 and this  Agreement,
generally.

          7.2  PERMITTED  DISCLOSURES.  Except  as  otherwise  limited  by  this
Agreement,  each  party  hereto  may  disclose  the other  party's  Confidential
Information  and scientific  data resulting from the activities  conducted under
the this Agreement only (a) to its Affiliates,  its Sublicensees permitted under
Section  2,  or to  its  advisors,  financial  investors,  third  party  service
providers,  and other similarly  situated third parties on a need to know basis,
if such Affiliates, Sublicensees,

                                       11

<PAGE>

and other permitted recipients agree to be bound by the terms of this Section 7,
and (b) to the extent such disclosure is reasonably necessary in connection with
prosecuting or defending litigation, complying with applicable governmental
regulations or otherwise submitting information to tax or other governmental
authorities or making a permitted sublicense or otherwise exercising its rights
hereunder, provided that if a party is required to make any such disclosure of
another party's Confidential Information, other than pursuant to a
confidentiality agreement, it shall give reasonable advance notice to the latter
party of such disclosure and shall cooperate with the original disclosing party
in any effort by the original disclosing party to secure a protective order
blocking the disclosure of, or otherwise affording confidential treatment to,
such Confidential Information. It is expressly not permitted to disclose
Confidential Information of the other party as part of any patent application or
its prosecution without the express written consent of the disclosing party.

          7.3 EMPLOYEE  AGREEMENTS.  Each party shall obtain appropriate written
confidentiality  and assignment of proprietary rights agreements from all of its
respective employees and agents,  without limitation and executed as a condition
of  employment  or  agency,  which  agreements  shall be no less  protective  of
Confidential  Information  and of the parties'  interests in proprietary  rights
than the terms set forth in this Section 7.

          7.4 PRESS  RELEASES.  Neither  party is  permitted  to make any public
announcement  or press release unless the other party has agreed to the specific
statements to be included in such announcement or release, which agreement shall
not be unreasonably  withheld  (particularly to the extent that either party may
consider  itself  compelled under  applicable  securities laws to make a limited
disclosure).

          8. INDEMNIFICATION.

          8.1 INDEMNIFICATION OF MONSANTO. MMI shall indemnify, defend, and hold
Monsanto  and  its  Affiliates,   and  their  respective  directors,   officers,
employees,  agents, consultants,  and counsel, and the successors and assigns of
the foregoing (the "Monsanto Indemnitees") harmless from and against any and all
liabilities, damages, losses, costs or expenses (including reasonable attorneys'
and  professional  fees  and  other  expenses  of  litigation  and  arbitration)
resulting  from a claim,  suit or proceeding  brought by a third party against a
Monsanto  Indemnitee,  arising  from or  occurring as a result of (i) any use by
MMI,  its  Affiliates,  or  its  Sublicensees  of  the  Improvements  (including
infringement of Intellectual  Property and product liability claims),  except to
the extent caused by the gross negligence or willful misconduct of Monsanto,  or
(ii) breach of MMI's representations and warranties set forth in Section 6.1.1.

          8.2 INDEMNIFICATION OF MMI. Monsanto shall indemnify,  defend and hold
MMI, its Affiliates,  Applera  Corporation  (itself or acting through its Celera
Genomics  Group)  which  is a  licensor  of a  portion  of the MMI  Intellectual
Property,  and  their  respective  directors,   officers,   employees,   agents,
consultants,  and counsel and the  successors  and assigns of the foregoing (the
"MMI Indemnitees")  harmless from and against any and all liabilities,  damages,
losses, costs or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' and professional fees
and other expenses of litigation and arbitration)  resulting from a claim,  suit
or proceeding brought by a third party against a MMI Indemnitee, arising from or
occurring  as a result of (i) any  practice  by  Monsanto,  its  Affiliates,  or
Sublicensees of the licenses granted herein, (ii) the development,  manufacture,
use, license,

                                       12
<PAGE>

importation,  marketing,  sale,  and/or  commercialization  of  any  Product  by
Monsanto,   its   Affiliates,   or  Sublicensees   (including   infringement  of
Intellectual  Property and product liability  claims),  except, in each case, to
the extent caused by the gross negligence or willful misconduct of MMI, or (iii)
a breach by Monsanto of its  representations and warranties set forth in Section
6.1.2.

          8.3  PROCEDURE.  A party  (the  "Indemnitee")  that  intends  to claim
indemnification  under this Section 8 shall promptly notify the other party (the
"Indemnitor") of any loss,  claim,  damage,  liability,  or action in respect of
which the Indemnitee intends to claim such  indemnification,  and the Indemnitor
shall have the right to  participate  in, and, to the extent the  Indemnitor  so
desires,  to assume sole Control of the defense  thereof  with counsel  mutually
satisfactory to the parties, including, the right to settle the action on behalf
of the Indemnitee on any terms the Indemnitor deems desirable in the exercise of
its  sole  discretion,  except  that  the  Indemnitor  shall  not,  without  the
Indemnitee's  prior written  consent,  settle any such claim if such  settlement
contains  either (a) a  stipulation  to or  admission or  acknowledgment  of any
liability  or  wrongdoing  on  the  part  of the  Indemnitee,  (b)  imposes  any
obligation on the Indemnitee other than a monetary  obligation,  and only to the
extent the Indemnitor assumes directly such obligation,  or (c) a relinquishment
or waiver of any right of the  Indemnitee.  Only a party to this  Agreement  may
invoke the indemnification  provisions of Section 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3, e.g., if an
MMI consultant desires to seek contractual  indemnification  from Monsanto,  MMI
(not the  consultant)  would have to make such claim under this Section 8.3. The
failure to deliver  written  notice to the Indemnitor  within a reasonable  time
after the commencement of any such action shall not impair  Indemnitor's duty to
defend  such  action  but  shall  relieve  Indemnitor  of any  liability  to the
Indemnitee  to the extent the  Indemnitor  is  prejudiced  by the delay.  At the
Indemnitor's  request,  the Indemnitee shall cooperate fully with the Indemnitor
and its legal  representatives  in the  investigation and defense of any action,
claim, or liability covered by this indemnification and provide full information
with respect thereto. Subject to the Indemnitee's fulfillment of its obligations
under this Section 8.3, the Indemnitor  shall pay any damages,  costs,  or other
amounts awarded against the Indemnitee (or payable by the Indemnitee pursuant to
a settlement  agreement  entered into by the Indemnitor) in connection with such
claim.

          9. EXCLUSION OF DAMAGES; LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

             IN NO EVENT SHALL EITHER  PARTY BE LIABLE  UNDER THIS  AGREEMENT TO
THE OTHER  PARTY  FOR ANY  INCIDENTAL,  CONSEQUENTIAL,  INDIRECT,  OR  EXEMPLARY
DAMAGES,  INCLUDING  DAMAGES  FROM LOSS OF  PROFITS  OR  OPPORTUNITIES,  EVEN IF
ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT SHALL MMI'S LIABILITY TO
MONSANTO  ARISING  OUT  OF  OR  IN  CONNECTION  WITH  THIS  AGREEMENT,  THE  MMI
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, THE MMI DATABASE, OR MONSANTO'S USE OR OTHER EXPLOITATION
THEREOF,  WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY OTHER THEORY OF LIABILITY,  EXCEED IN
THE  AGGREGATE  THE AMOUNTS  ACTUALLY PAID BY MONSANTO TO MMI DURING THE ONE (1)
YEAR PERIOD BEFORE SUCH LIABILITY FIRST ACCRUES.  THIS SECTION 9 SHALL NOT APPLY
TO OR LIMIT ANY REMEDIES FOR CLAIMS ARISING UNDER SECTIONS 7 AND 8.

          10. TERM AND TERMINATION.

          10.1 TERM.  The term of this Agreement shall commence on the Effective
Date and shall continue until terminated as provided herein.

                                       13
<PAGE>

          10.2  TERMINATION  BY  MONSANTO.  Prior  to  the  development  of  any
Improvement  (but not until at least after  December  31,  2004),  Monsanto  may
terminate  this Agreement at any time upon ninety (90) days prior written notice
to MMI. Thereafter,  Monsanto may terminate at any time by giving written notice
to MMI and disclosing and assigning all rights to Improvements to MMI.

          10.3  TERMINATION FOR CAUSE.  Either party may, upon written notice to
the other party,  terminate  this Agreement in its entirety or, at the option of
the party  providing  notice of  termination,  may terminate any license granted
hereunder  on a  Product-by-Product  basis,  if the other  party has  materially
breached  this  Agreement  and failed to cure such breach within forty five (45)
days after receiving written notice thereof from the party seeking to terminate.
For  avoidance  of doubt,  termination  pursuant to this  Section  10.3 shall be
effective only if the party seeking to terminate provides notice of breach, such
breach is not cured  within forty five (45) days,  and such party then  provides
notice of termination upon expiration of such cure period.

          10.4 ACCRUED OBLIGATIONS. Termination of this Agreement or any license
granted  hereunder  for any reason  shall not release any party  hereto from any
liability  which,  at the time of such  termination,  has already accrued to the
other party or which is  attributable  to a period prior to such  termination or
the performance of which was due prior to such termination,  nor preclude either
party from pursuing any rights and remedies it may have hereunder and at law and
in equity  which  accrued  or are based upon any event  occurring  prior to such
termination.

          10.5 EFFECT OF TERMINATION. Upon any termination of this Agreement (or
any termination or expiration without renewal of any license granted hereunder),
the licensee  shall  promptly  cease any use under such license and shall,  upon
request of the licensor,  promptly destroy all related materials,  including all
Confidential  Information  received from the licensor  related to the terminated
license (except one copy of which may, upon notice to the licensor,  be retained
solely by legal  counsel  solely for  archival  purposes).  The  licensee  shall
certify in writing its compliance with such request to destroy.  Notwithstanding
anything in this Section 10.5 to the contrary, (a) in the event of a termination
for cause under Section 10.3, the nonbreaching party shall continue to enjoy any
license to it and (b) any  termination  by Monsanto under Section 10.2 shall not
terminate  any license  already  granted to MMI under  Sections  2.2 and 2.3 nor
MMI's obligation to pay royalties to Monsanto for that license.

          10.6 TERMINATION FOR FAILURE TO PAY MINIMUM ROYALTIES. Notwithstanding
the  provisions  of Section 10.6,  if pursuant to Section  3.2.1(c)  Monsanto is
required to make a payment to cover a deficiency in earned royalties in order to
pay a minimum  amount to MMI in a year and fails to make that  payment,  MMI may
terminate  the license  granted in Section 2.1 except to the extent  required to
allow Monsanto to continue to Commercially  Exploit the Improvements  made as of
the termination date. Thereafter, Sections 2.4 and 3.2.1(c) shall have no effect
but the remainder of the terms of this Agreement, and the rights and obligations
of the parties  thereunder,  shall  continue,  including the  obligations to pay
royalties under Sections 3.2.1(a) and (b) and 3.2.2.

          10.7 SURVIVAL. Sections 1, 2 (but not 2.4), 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.4,
11, and 12 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

                                       14
<PAGE>

          11. DISPUTE RESOLUTION.

          11.1 INFORMAL  NEGOTIATION;  MEDIATION.  If a dispute arises out of or
relates to this  Agreement or a breach  thereof,  the parties shall first try to
resolve their dispute through  informal and good faith  negotiation  between the
Chief Executive Officer of MMI and the Executive Vice President of Technology of
Monsanto.  If said officers cannot resolve the dispute within three (3) business
days, then the parties agree first to try in good faith to settle the dispute by
mediation  under the  Commercial  Mediation  Rules of the  American  Arbitration
Association, before resorting to arbitration,  litigation, or some other dispute
resolution procedure.

          11.2 ARBITRATION. Any dispute under this Agreement that is not settled
by mutual consent shall be finally settled by binding arbitration,  conducted in
accordance  with the Commercial  Arbitration  Rules of the American  Arbitration
Association  by  three  (3)  independent,   neutral  arbitrators   appointed  in
accordance  with  said  rules  (at least  one of which  shall  have  substantial
experience in the biotech or agbio industry).  (In the event, however, any third
party  is  materially  necessary  to the  resolution  of the  dispute,  e.g.,  a
co-claimant,  a  co-defendant,  or a  third-party  claimant or  defendant,  then
arbitration   shall  not  be  so  mandatory   unless  such  third  party  agrees
unconditionally  to  participate or both MMI and Monsanto waive all objection to
proceeding.) The arbitration  shall be held in Washington,  D.C. The arbitrators
shall determine what discovery  shall be permitted,  consistent with the goal of
limiting the cost and time which the parties must expend for discovery; provided
the arbitrators  shall permit such discovery as they deem necessary to permit an
equitable  resolution  of the  dispute.  Any written  evidence  originally  in a
language   other  than  English  shall  be  submitted  in  English   translation
accompanied  by the  original  or a  true  copy  thereof.  Except  as  otherwise
expressly  provided in this Agreement,  the costs of the arbitration,  including
administrative and  arbitrator(s)'  fees, shall be shared equally by the parties
and each  party  shall  bear its own  costs and  attorneys'  and  witness'  fees
incurred in connection with the arbitration. A disputed performance or suspended
performances  pending the resolution of the arbitration must be completed within
a reasonable time period following the final decision of the arbitrator(s).  Any
arbitration  subject to this Article shall be completed within one (1) year from
the  filing  of  notice  of a  request  for such  arbitration.  The  arbitration
proceedings  and the decision shall not be made public without the joint consent
of the  parties  and each  party  shall  maintain  the  confidentiality  of such
proceedings  and decision  unless  otherwise  permitted by the other party.  Any
decision  which  requires a monetary  payment  shall  require such payment to be
payable  in  United  States  dollars,  free of any tax or other  deduction.  The
parties agree that the decision shall be the sole,  exclusive and binding remedy
between  them  regarding  any  and  all  disputes,  controversies,   claims  and
counterclaims presented to the arbitrators.  Any award may be entered in a court
of  competent  jurisdiction  for a judicial  recognition  of the decision and an
order of enforcement.

          11.3    INFRINGEMENT   AND   BREACH   OF    CONFIDENTIALITY    CLAIMS.
Notwithstanding  anything  in  this  Section  11 to  the  contrary,  claims  for
infringement or misappropriation of MMI Intellectual Property or Improvements by
the  other  party,  as the case may be,  will not be  subject  to  mediation  or
arbitration,  and the party alleging such infringement or  misappropriation,  or
defending  said  allegation,  expressly  reserves  the right to submit  any such
claim,  including  any factual or legal  issues  relating to such a claim,  to a
court of competent jurisdiction, and to pursue without limitation all rights and
remedies  available under this Agreement and at law and in equity.  In addition,
either party,  notwithstanding  anything in this Section 11 to the contrary, may
seek

                                       15
<PAGE>

injunctive relief in the courts to protect its interests under Section 7 in the
even of a material breach or reasonably anticipated material breach of Section
7.

          12. MISCELLANEOUS

          12.1 GOVERNING  LAW. This  Agreement and any dispute  arising from the
performance  or breach  hereof shall be governed by and  construed in accordance
with the internal laws of the State of Delaware  applicable to contracts entered
into and performed in Delaware by residents thereof (without  application of law
governing the conflict of laws).

          12.2 WAIVER.  Neither  party may waive or release any of its rights or
interests in this Agreement  except in writing,  including the  applicability of
this Section 12.2. The failure of either party to assert a right hereunder or to
insist upon  compliance  with any term or condition of this Agreement  shall not
constitute  a waiver of that  right or excuse a similar  subsequent  failure  to
perform any such term or condition.

          12.3  AMENDMENT.  This  Agreement  may be  modified  or  amended  only
pursuant to a writing  executed by both parties,  including any  modification or
amendment of this Section 12.3.

          12.4 ASSIGNMENT.  Except as otherwise provided herein,  this Agreement
and the licenses  granted  herein shall not be assignable by either party to any
third  party  hereto  without the  written  consent of the other  party  hereto;
provided,  however,  that (subject to Section 12.5) either party may assign this
Agreement,  without such consent (but  provided that advance  written  notice is
given  and  any  successor   acknowledges  in  writing  the   applicability  and
enforceability   of  this  Agreement   (particularly  the  "field  of  use"  and
confidentiality  provisions) upon such successor), to an Affiliate of such party
(provided that such original  party remains  liable  hereunder) or in connection
with  the  reorganization,   consolidation,   spin-off,   sale  or  transfer  of
substantially all of the stock or assets related to that portion of its business
pertaining  to  the  subject  matter  of  this  Agreement,  either  alone  or in
conjunction  with other  businesses  as part of an overall  reorganization.  The
terms and  conditions  of this  Agreement  shall be  binding on and inure to the
benefit of such permitted  successors  and assigns of the parties.  In the event
that  Monsanto  (or its  successor)  desires to assign  this  Agreement  and the
licenses  granted  herein to a competitor  of an MMI  licensee in cattle  (i.e.,
Cargill,  Incorporated),  poultry, fish, or other domestically raised livestock,
and dogs and other domesticated pets, such assignee,  as a part of the assigning
agreement  required by this Section  12.4,  shall  provide  that persons  having
access to the MMI Database or MMI  Intellectual  Property or Improvements  shall
not disclose or allow to be disclosed any information  embodying the same to any
person involved in said competing business to protect MMI's interests in same.

          12.5 SALE OF  MONSANTO'S  SWINE  BUSINESS.  In the event that Monsanto
decides  to sell or  otherwise  transfer  Control  of the Swine  Business  to an
unrelated  entity,  Monsanto shall notify MMI before it notifies any prospective
third  party  purchaser  (or  the  public)  and  shall  give  MMI  a  reasonable
opportunity to make an offer to purchase the Swine Business from Monsanto.

          12.6  NOTICES.  All  notices,   requests,   and  other  communications
hereunder  shall be in  writing  and shall be  personally  delivered  or sent by
international  express  delivery  service,  or by registered or certified  mail,
return receipt requested, postage prepaid, in each case to the

                                       16
<PAGE>

respective address specified below, or such other address as may be specified in
writing to the other parties hereto:

                Monsanto:          Monsanto Company
                                   800 N. Lindbergh Blvd. St.
                                   Louis, Missouri 63167
                                   Attn.: Dr. Michael Stern

                with a copy to:    General Patent Counsel
                                   Monsanto Company
                                   800 N. Lindbergh Boulevard
                                   St. Louis, Missouri 63167

                MMI:               MetaMorphix, Inc.
                                   8510A Corridor Rd.
                                   Savage, MD 20763
                                   Attn: Edwin C. Quattlebaum, Ph.D.,
                                   President and CEO

                with a copy to:    Shapiro Sher Guinot & Sandler
                                   36 S. Charles Street, Suite 2000
                                   Baltimore, Maryland 21201
                                   Attn: William E. Carlson, Esq.

Except for a notice of a change of address,  which shall be effective  only upon
receipt thereof, all such notices, requests, demands, waivers and communications
properly  addressed  shall  be  effective:  (i) if  sent  by  U.S.  mail  (or if
internationally, by air mail), three (3) business days after deposit in the U.S.
mail or air mail, postage prepaid;  and (ii) if sent by Federal Express or other
overnight delivery service, one (1) business day after delivery to such service.

          12.7  PERFORMANCE  WARRANTY.  Monsanto  and  MMI  hereby  warrant  and
guarantee  the  performance  of any  and  all  rights  and  obligations  of this
Agreement by their Affiliate(s) and Sublicensees.

          12.8 FORCE  MAJEURE.  Neither  party  shall be liable to the other for
failure  or  delay  in the  performance  of any of its  obligations  under  this
Agreement  (other than  obligations  to pay money) for the time andto the extent
such  failure or delay is caused by  earthquake,  riot,  civil  commotion,  war,
hostilities  between nations,  governmental  law, order or regulation,  embargo,
action  by the  government  or any  agency  thereof,  act of God,  storm,  fire,
accident,  labor  dispute or strike,  sabotage,  explosion  or other  similar or
different  contingencies,  in each case,  beyond the reasonable  control of such
party.  The party  affected by Force  Majeure shall provide the other party with
full particulars  thereof as soon as it becomes aware of the same (including its
best  estimate of the likely  extent and duration of the  interference  with its
activities),  and shall use its best  endeavors  to  overcome  the  difficulties
created  thereby  and to  resume  performance  of its  obligations  as  soon  as
practicable.  If the  performance  of any  obligation  under this  Agreement  is
delayed owing to a force majeure for any continuous  period of more than six (6)
months, the parties hereto shall consult with respect to an equitable  solution,
including the possible termination of this Agreement.

                                       17
<PAGE>

          12.9 INDEPENDENT  CONTRACTORS.  Nothing contained in this Agreement is
intended  implicitly,  or is to be construed,  to constitute  Monsanto or MMI as
partners in the legal  sense.  No party hereto shall have any express or implied
right or  authority to assume or create any  obligations  on behalf of or in the
name of any other party or to bind any other party to any contract, agreement or
undertaking with any third party.

          12.10 ADVICE OF COUNSEL.  MMI and Monsanto have each consulted counsel
of their choice regarding this Agreement,  and each acknowledges and agrees that
this Agreement  shall not be deemed to have been drafted by one party or another
and shall be construed accordingly.

          12.11  OTHER  OBLIGATIONS.   Except  as  expressly  provided  in  this
Agreement or as separately agreed upon in writing between MMI and Monsanto, each
party shall bear its own costs incurred in connection with the implementation of
the obligations under this Agreement.

          12.12 SEVERABILITY. If any provisions of this Agreement are determined
to  be  invalid  or  unenforceable  by  an  arbitrator  or  court  of  competent
jurisdiction,  the  remainder of this  Agreement  shall remain in full force and
effect  without  said  provision.  The parties  shall in good faith  negotiate a
substitute  clause for any provision  declared invalid or  unenforceable,  which
shall most  nearly  approximate  the  intent of the  parties  in  entering  this
Agreement;  provided,  if the parties  are unable to agree on such a  substitute
clause and the deletion of the  provision  held invalid or  unenforceable  would
produce material adverse financial  consequences for one party, such party shall
have the right to terminate  this  Agreement  with one hundred eighty (180) days
notice.

          12.13  FURTHER  ASSURANCES.  At any  time or from  time to time on and
after the date of this Agreement, either party shall at the request of the other
party (i) deliver to the requesting party such records,  data or other documents
consistent with the provisions of this Agreement,  (ii) execute,  and deliver or
cause to be delivered,  all such consents,  documents or further  instruments of
assignment,  transfer or  license,  and (iii) take or cause to be taken all such
actions,  as the requesting  party may reasonably deem necessary or desirable in
order for the requesting party to obtain the full benefits of this Agreement and
the transactions contemplated hereby.

          12.14  ENTIRE  AGREEMENT.   This  Agreement   constitutes  the  entire
agreement, both written and oral, with respect to the subject matter hereof, and
supersedes all prior or  contemporaneous  understandings or agreements,  whether
written or oral,  between  Monsanto and MMI with respect to such subject matter,
except that the "Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement" of August 3, 2001
(as amended by that "Modification to Disclosure  Agreement" of January 21, 2004,
and that  "Modification  to  Disclosure  Agreement"  of  February  2004),  shall
continue to have effect for matters  between the parties  prior to the Effective
Date.

          12.15 HEADINGS.  The headings to the Sections hereof are not a part of
this  Agreement,  but are included  merely for convenience of reference only and
shall not affect its meaning or interpretation.

          12.16 CONSTRUCTION.  Whenever examples are used in this Agreement with
the  words  "including,"  "for  example,"  "e.g.,"  "such  as,"  "etc."  or  any
derivation of such words,  such examples are intended to be illustrative and not
limiting.

                                       18
<PAGE>

          12.17   COUNTERPARTS.   This   Agreement   may  be   executed  in  two
counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original and which together shall
constitute one instrument.

          IN  WITNESS  WHEREOF,  the  parties  hereto  have  caused  this  Swine
Improvement  Agreement to be duly executed by their  authorized  representatives
effective as of the Effective Date.

MONSANTO COMPANY                                  METAMORPHIX, INC.

                                                  /s/ EDWIN C. QUATTLEBAUM, PH.D

By:    /s/ MICHAEL K. STERN                       EDWIN C. QUATTLEBAUM, PH.D.
       --------------------                       ---------------------------
       Director of Chemistry and Animal Ag        President and CEO
       Technology

                                       19

<PAGE>

                     ATTACHMENT A

PRODUCTION ROYALTY REVENUE

a.   Total the following income amounts:

     i.   Royalties   calculated   on  weaned  pigs

     ii.  Royalties for semen  transferred or retained in customer  systems with
          no future  fees  calculated  on weaned pigs

     iii. Royalties for boars  retained in customer  systems with no future fees
          calculated  on weaned  pigs

     iv.  Royalties for gilts  transferred or retained in customer  systems with
          no future fees  calculated  on weaned  pigs;

b.   Deduct any rebates,  returns, or adjustments to customer payments

BASE YEAR REVENUE

a.   Total the Production Royalty Revenue from the twelve month period preceding
     the  month in  which  the  first  sale of a  Product  which  represents  an
     Improvement in Production Trait(s) occurs.

     Divide the total by four to use in the  calculation  of royalties due under
     Section 4.1.1 as calculated in Section 3.2.1(a)(ii).

b.   In the event  Monsanto  acquires  by  purchase a  business  entity or other
     assets  that  generate  Production  Royalty  Revenue,  adjust the Base Year
     Revenue,  as of the date of closing for the purchase,  by adding the annual
     revenue,  generated by the acquired  entity or assets that would qualify as
     Production  Royalty  Revenue,  to the previous  12-month  Base Year Revenue
     value.

     Divide the new total by four to use in the  calculation  of  royalties  due
     under Section 4.1.1 as calculated in Section 3.2.1(a)(ii).

                                       20

<PAGE>

                                  ATTACHMENT B
                                    WORK PLAN

     1)   Obtain  list of data that will be  transferred  to  Monsanto  ("MON").
          Initiate a  sub-project  to design and  implement  a database to store
          data and track work done with the data. (MMI and MON)

     2)   Evaluate  overall  informativeness  of MMI  porcine  SNPs,  extent  of
          undiscovered   polymorphisms  and  assay  `designability'.   (MON)
          a.  Randomly select *** SNPs from *** clusters
                    i. *** specific
                   ii. *** representing variation between *** and ***
                  iii. *** representing variation between *** & *** sequences
                       included in clusters

          b.  Design primers against all *** SNPs

          c.  PCR  amplify and sequence  all *** using  genomic DNA from *** and
              *** `discovery panel' animals

          d.  Determine:
                    i. percentage of MMI SNPs that is informative in *** lines
                       (and ***).
                   ii. relative informativeness of *** vs. ***
                       SNPs.
                  iii. percentage of MMI SNPs for which assays can
                       probably be successfully designed.
                   iv. potential  impact   of  `unidentified   SNPs'  on   assay
                       conversion  rate  number  of MMI SNPs,  per *** bin, that
                       need to be selected to achieve satisfactory coverage with
                       informative marker assays.Select traits and
          QTL regions (using SSRs from porcine linkage map to flank each region)
          to be fine mapped. Select all sequence tagged sites (STS) from porcine
          linkage,  radiation  hybrid (RH) and BAC physical maps located  within
          selected QTL regions. (MON)

     4)   BLAST all porcine STS against all MMI porcine clusters;  SNPs from any
          clusters  matching STS sequences will be considered  mapped in porcine
          genome.  Determine  percentage  of STS that  find  sequence  match and
          matches to cluster(s) with SNPs. (MON and MMI)

     5)   Compare *** cluster  sequences to human (and possibly  other  species)
          genome and identify orthologous genomic regions.  Define human genomic
          regions likely to represent target porcine QTL region. (MON)

     6)   Select all porcine SNPs  belonging  to MMI clusters  syntenic to human
          regions identified in step 5. (MMI or MON)

     7)   Collate all SNPs  predicted to map to QTL regions of interest and make
          note of:
          a. QTL region (MON)
          b. human bin, if applicable (MMI or MON)
          c. actual/predicted porcine genomic location (MON)
          d. discovered in
               i. only *** sequences (MMI)
               ii.segregating between *** sequence (MMI)
               iii. segregating within breeds other than *** (MMI)

     8)   Submit all SNP  sequences  to third party  service  provider to obtain
          `SNP Score' (MON)

     9)   Select  ***Mb  bin,  using  information  from step 8 to rank SNPs with
          highest  probability for  informativeness and successful assay design.
          (MON)

     10)  Notify  third  party  service  provider  of  initial  set of SNPs  ***
          selected for `informativeness'  genotyping.  Provide plates containing
          `diversity  panel' samples and `Monsanto  linkage

                                       22
<PAGE>

          panel'.  [Diversity  panel = sets of  unrelated  animals from each MCG
          line of interest that can be used to determine informativeness of each
          SNP should the assay be successful.  Monsanto  linkage panel = two (or
          three) generation  families from *** resource  population that will be
          used to 1) check Mendelian  inheritance to identify  `invalid'  assays
          and 2) identify  unlinked  SNPs and determine best probable order  and
          spacing of SNPs] (MON)

     11)  Informativeness genotyping -- 3 months (MON)

     12)  Analyze  genotype  data to select  *** mb bin that:

               a.  assay  has  been  successfully   converted  (i.e.   genotypes
               generated for *** of samples submitted) (MON)

               b. SNP minor allele frequency *** in line(s) of interest (MON)

               c. no unexplained non-Mendelian inheritance issues (MON)

               d. evidence of linkage to other SNPs in QTL region. (MON)

     13)  Notify third party  service  provider of the set of SNPs *** that have
          been selected to be genotyped on a large population of samples *** for
          association  testing.  Provide  plates  containing  DNA for population
          genotyping. (MON)

     14)  Genotyping - 3 months (MON)

     15)  Genotypic QC and analysis. (MON)

     16)  *** Analysis of resulting genotypic and phenotypic data set. (MON)

     17)  Selection of SNP *** conferring  greatest  benefit to economic traits.
          (MON)

     18)  Inclusion of selected marker haplotypes in  marker-assisted  selection
          programs  designed to enhance the genetic  merit of  commercial  swine
          breeding herds. (MON)

                                       23
<PAGE>

                                  ATTACHMENT C

1. All porcine fragment sequence reads
     a. Fragment (sequence read) ID
     b. Sequence of each  fragment  (avg.  is approx.  *** bp) where,  number of
     fragments is greater than 4,000,000

2. All cloned library information
     a. Fragment ID
     b. Source library (breed) ID

3. All contig information
     a. Contig ID
     b. Consensus sequence of each contig

4. All in silico polymorphisms
     a. Polymorphism ID
     b. Contig ID that the polymorphism is found in
     c. Allele frequency within library (breed) [if available]
     d. Allele frequency between libraries (breeds) [if available]
     e. Flanking sequence around each SNP, up to *** bp, where available

                                       22EX-10.21

  [***Confidential Treatment Requested. Confidential portions of this agreement
     have been redacted and have been separately filed with the Commission]

                                  CONFIDENTIAL

                 JOINT DEVELOPMENT AND JOINT MARKETING AGREEMENT

                                    BETWEEN

           METAMORPHIX, INC. AND EXCEL CORPORATION AND CARGILL, INC.

                                       1
<PAGE>

                                  CONFIDENTIAL

                 JOINT DEVELOPMENT AND JOINT MARKETING AGREEMENT

This Joint  Development  and Joint  Marketing  Agreement  (the  "Agreement")  is
entered  into  as  of  May  6,  2002  (the  "Effective  Date")  by  and  between
METAMORPHIX,  INC., a Delaware corporation,  having a place of business at 8510A
Corridor Road, Savage, Maryland 20763 ("MMI") and EXCEL CORPORATION,  a Delaware
corporation  and a  subsidiary  of  Cargill,  Incorporated,  having  a place  of
business  at 151 North Main  Street,  Wichita,  Kansas  67202  ("Excel"),  and -
CARGILL,  INCORPORATED,  a Delaware  corporation,  through its Caprock  business
unit, having a place of business at 15407 McGinty Road West, Wayzata,  Minnesota
55391  ("Caprock")(Excel  and Caprock may be collectively  referred to herein as
the "The Cargill Entities"),  each hereinafter  individually  referred to as the
"Party" and collectively as the "Parties."

                                    RECITALS

         WHEREAS,  MMI has  developed and licensed in resources and expertise in
the areas of on-line information,  discovery sciences,  discovery services,  and
agricultural  products  that are  based on MMI's  generation,  integration,  and
analysis of biological  information  and that enable  agricultural  research and
discoveries by the members of the agriculture  industry and research  community;
and

         WHEREAS,  Excel is engaged in the  business  of  processing  cattle and
other livestock into various meat and animal-derived  products,  and the sale of
such products; and

         WHEREAS, Caprock is engaged in the business of raising and feeding beef
cattle; and

         WHEREAS,  The Cargill Entities,  subject to the terms and conditions of
this Agreement,  desire to have MMI perform the discovery  services as described
in this Agreement for them, and MMI desires to obtain  certain  information  and
data from The Cargill Entities as described in this Agreement; and

         WHEREAS,  The Cargill  Entities and MMI intend to work together  toward
jointly developing and jointly commercializing  products through the utilization
of the discovery  services,  information,  and data that are the subject of this
Agreement; and

         WHEREAS, MMI, subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, is
willing to perform the discovery services as set forth in this Agreement for The
Cargill  Entities,  and The  Cargill  Entities,  subject  to the  terms  of this
Agreement, are willing to provide MMI with the information and data as set forth
in this Agreement.

                                       2
<PAGE>

                                  CONFIDENTIAL

                                    AGREEMENT

         NOW, THEREFORE, the Parties agree, covenant,  represent, and warrant as
follows:

                                  1 DEFINITIONS

For  purposes  of this  Agreement,  each  capitalized  term used  shall have the
meaning assigned to it in Exhibit A or otherwise in this Agreement.

            2         PERFORMANCE AND GOVERNANCE OF THE WORK PLAN

2.1      PRIMARY CONTACTS AND STEERING  COMMITTEE.  The Parties shall form a six
         (6) person steering committee (the "Steering Committee") to monitor the
         research and  development  activities  under this Agreement and perform
         the  functions as provided  below.  MMI and The Cargill  Entities  each
         shall  appoint  three  (3)  representatives  to serve  on the  Steering
         Committee,  and each shall designate one of its  representatives  to be
         the primary  contact  between them and to serve as the co-chairs of the
         Steering  Committee.  These primary  contacts shall be responsible  for
         day-to-day  communication  between the Parties  and for  preparing  and
         retaining  summaries of all communications for at least three (3) years
         after the date of Complete  Delivery.  Each Party may substitute any or
         all of its  representatives  to the  Steering  Committee  upon  written
         notice to the other Party.  Prior written notice (of at least three (3)
         days and to all members) must be given of all meetings (whether held in
         person or by  telephone  conference),  at least four (4) members of the
         Steering  Committee  must be present to  constitute  a quorum,  and any
         decisions, recommendations, or other authorized actions of the Steering
         Committee  shall be made only by a majority  vote of all six members of
         the  Committee  (i.e.,  by at least  four  (4)  members  voting  in the
         affirmative).

         2.1.1    The Steering Committee shall:

                  (a)      Monitor  issues  relating  to the Work Plan (which is
                           attached   to  this   Agreement   as  Exhibit  B  and
                           incorporated  by  reference  herein) and to the Joint
                           IP.

                  (b)      Monitor, discuss, and make recommendations on matters
                           relating to Joint IP (including,  but not limited to,
                           the advisability of filing a patent upon any specific
                           association or other item of Joint IP);

                  (c)      Assess the research  requirements,  time frames,  and
                           work  prioritization  of the Work Plan.  The Steering
                           Committee  shall  have the  authority  to extend  any
                           deadlines  or time  frames  under the Work Plan by no
                           more than sixty (60) days.  Should  either Party seek
                           an extension  beyond 60 days,  it must be approved in
                           writing

                                       3
<PAGE>

                                  CONFIDENTIAL

                           by  the  Chief  Executive  Officer  of  MMI  (or  his
                           authorized  designee)  and  the  designated  Business
                           Manager for The Cargill Entities.

                  (d)      Meet following the completion or purported completion
                           of  each  Part  of the  Work  plan,  within  30  days
                           following  delivery by MMI to The Cargill Entities of
                           the required  Deliverable(s)  applicable to such Part
                           of the Work  Plan,  to (1)  discuss  and  assess  the
                           Deliverable(s),  and (2) make a recommendation  as to
                           whether or not the Parties should proceed to the next
                           Part  of  the  Work  Plan.  In  the  event  that  the
                           recommendation  of  the  Steering   Committee  is  to
                           proceed  to the  next  Part  of the  Work  Plan,  the
                           Parties  shall  so  proceed.  In the  event  that the
                           Steering  Committee  recommends  that the Parties not
                           proceed  to the next  Part or in the  event  that the
                           Steering  Committee  cannot reach a majority  vote on
                           the issue, the Parties shall follow the procedure set
                           forth in Section 12.12.

                  (e)      Following  completion  of the  Work  Plan,  turn  its
                           attention and efforts toward commercialization of the
                           Joint IP and  associated  products and  services.  In
                           this regard, the Steering Committee shall, keeping in
                           mind the Core Commercialization  Concepts (as defined
                           in Section  8),  meet on a regular  basis to discuss,
                           evaluate   alternatives,   and  make  recommendations
                           relating to the commercialization of the Joint IP and
                           the execution of a definitive Joint Commercialization
                           Agreement.

         2.1.2    The Steering Committee shall NOT have any authority to:

                  (a)      amend the Work Plan,  other than with  respect to the
                           extension of deadlines as  specifically  described in
                           Section 2.1.1(d) above;

                  (b)      amend this Agreement; or

                  (c)      bind  any  of  the  Parties  to  any   obligation  or
                           commitment  in  addition to or  different  from those
                           contained in this Agreement.

2.2      WORK PLAN. The Parties shall use their commercially  reasonable efforts
         to complete the research and  activities in the Work Plan in accordance
         with the schedule set forth therein.

2.3      MATERIAL, DATA AND/OR INFORMATION TRANSFER.

         2.3.1    The Cargill Entities shall provide MMI with the Samples in the
                  amount and of the  quality  set forth in the Work Plan for MMI
                  to use  for  purposes  set  forth  in  this  Agreement  and to
                  complete the Work Plan.  The Cargill  Entities  further  shall
                  describe in writing each transfer of any Sample to MMI. In the
                  event that The Cargill Entities fail to deliver the Samples as
                  required  by the Work  Plan,  then MMI shall  provide  written
                  notice  to The  Cargill  Entities'  co-chair  of the  Steering
                  Committee and the time for MMI

                                       4
<PAGE>

                                  CONFIDENTIAL

                  to provide each affected  Deliverable and Complete Delivery to
                  Excel  shall be  extended by a number days equal to the number
                  of days that passed from the due date for such  Samples  until
                  the date that The  Cargill  Entities  delivered  the  required
                  Samples to MMI.

         2.3.2    MMI shall (a) use The  Cargill  Entities'  Material  solely to
                  meet its obligations under this Agreement,  and (b) either (i)
                  if requested by The Cargill Entities in timely fashion, return
                  all residual  Samples to The Cargill Entities (or another site
                  designated  by The Cargill  Entities') at the expense and risk
                  of The Cargill Entities within thirty (30) calendar days after
                  the date of Complete Delivery or termination of this Agreement
                  or (ii)  destroy  all  residual  Samples  within  thirty  (30)
                  calendar   days  after  the  date  of  Complete   Delivery  or
                  termination  of this  Agreement.  MMI  shall  not  distribute,
                  release,  sell, disclose, or otherwise transfer the Samples to
                  any Third Party,  except as otherwise  may be permitted  under
                  Section 4 (Confidentiality).

         2.3.3    The Cargill Entities reserve the right to use the Samples and,
                  subject to the terms of this  Agreement,  transfer them to any
                  Third Party.

 2.4     DATA ACCUMULATION. Immediately upon completion of each Part of the Work
         Plan,  MMI  shall  deliver  to  The  Cargill  Entities  the  applicable
         Deliverable(s)  as set  forth in the  Work  Plan and  Section  3.2.  In
         addition,  MMI shall record and store the data and information as it is
         generated and  accumulated  under the Work Plan in one or more computer
         databases in anticipation of the delivery of certain  confidential data
         and information in furtherance of Section 7.8.

                                  3    PAYMENTS

 3.1     PAYMENTS BY THE CARGILL  ENTITIES TO MMI.  The Cargill  Entities  shall
         share in the costs of the  activities  and  services  performed  by MMI
         under the Work Plan by making  payments  to MMI as set forth in Exhibit
         C. Except for the Initial Payment, it is the intent of the Parties that
         The Cargill  Entities shall be obligated to make a given payment to MMI
         only following the full and  successful  completion of each Part of the
         Work Plan upon delivery by MMI of the required Deliverable(s).

 3.2     MMI DELIVERY OF DELIVERABLE(S). When MMI believes that it has completed
         a given Part of the Work Plan, it shall deliver to The Cargill Entities
         the required Deliverable(s) which shall be accompanied by (1) a written
         statement  confirming  that all of the  required  actions and  services
         under the Work Plan have been  completed  and that all of the  required
         Deliverable(s)   have  been  delivered  and  (2)  an  invoice  for  the
         applicable payment amount as set forth on Exhibit C.

 3.3     REVIEW OF DELIVERABLE(S) BY THE CARGILL ENTITIES. Upon receipt from MMI
         of all of the Deliverable(s) and the written documentation described in
         Section  3.2, The Cargill  Entities  shall have a period of thirty (30)
         days to examine the Deliverables

                                       5
<PAGE>

                                  CONFIDENTIAL

         and make a determination, in its reasonable judgment, as to whether MMI
         has  completed  all of the required  actions and services and delivered
         all of the required Deliverable(s).

         3.3.1    In the event  that The  Cargill  Entities  determine  that all
                  required Deliverable(s) have been successfully delivered,  The
                  Cargill  Entities  shall remit  payment to MMI within ten (10)
                  days following the 30 day period  evaluation  period.  If such
                  payment is not  received on or before  such tenth  (10th) day,
                  then MMI may provide  written notice to The Cargill  Entities'
                  co-chair of the Steering  Committee  and have the time for MMI
                  to provide  the  Deliverable(s)  for the next Part of the Work
                  Plan shall be extended by a number of days equal to the number
                  of days that passed from the due date for such  payment  until
                  the date upon which MMI receives such payments.

         3.3.2    In the event  that The  Cargill  Entities  determine  that all
                  required  Deliverable(s)  have  not  been  delivered,  (1) The
                  Cargill   Entities   shall   advise  MMI  in  writing  of  its
                  determination  within the 30 day evaluation period specifying,
                  in  detail,  the  areas  of  deficiency  and (2)  The  Cargill
                  Entities' obligation to remit the applicable payment and MMI's
                  obligation  to  proceed  with the next  Part of the Work  Plan
                  shall be  suspended  pending  a  resolution  of the  matter as
                  described in Section 3.3.3 below.

         3.3.3    In the event The Cargill  Entities  provide  written notice to
                  MMI of deficiencies  as described in Section 3.3.2 above,  MMI
                  shall either:

                  (a)      make an effort to address the  deficiencies  cited by
                           The Cargill  Entities and make a corrective  delivery
                           of all of the required  Deliverable(s) within 30 days
                           following receipt of The Cargill Entities' notice, in
                           which case Cargill shall have a further 30 day period
                           to evaluate  the  corrective  Deliverable(s).  In the
                           event that The  Cargill  Entities  determine,  in its
                           reasonable judgment, that all required Deliverable(s)
                           have been  delivered,  The  Cargill  Entities,  shall
                           remit  payment to MMI within ten (10) days  following
                           the   earlier  of  the  end  of  the  30-day   period
                           evaluation period or such determination. In the event
                           The  Cargill   Entities  again   determine  that  all
                           required Deliverable(s) have not been delivered,  (1)
                           The Cargill  Entities  shall advise MMI in writing of
                           its  determination  within the new 30-day  evaluation
                           period  specifying the areas of  deficiency,  thereby
                           initiating  one (1)  additional and final 30-day cure
                           period or (2) if a  reasonable  determination  can be
                           made that such  Deliverable(s)  are incapable of ever
                           being  delivered  (due to  scientific  impossibility,
                           impracticability  of the effort, or MMI's abandonment
                           of the project), The Cargill Entities shall thereupon
                           have the right to declare MMI in breach and terminate
                           this  Agreement  with  immediate  effect by providing
                           written notice to

                                       6
<PAGE>

                                  CONFIDENTIAL

                           MMI, in which case ownership and rights in and to the
                           Joint IP shall be as set  forth,  as the case may be,
                           in either Section 5.3.2 or Section 7.2.1. The Cargill
                           Entities  shall have no further  obligation  to remit
                           the  applicable  payment,  nor any  further  payments
                           whatsoever,  to MMI,  subject to MMI's right to refer
                           the matter to binding  arbitration in accordance with
                           Section 12.12; or

                  (b)      advise The  Cargill  Entities  in writing (i) that it
                           disagrees with The Cargill Entities notice, (ii) that
                           it reasserts that its belief that all of the required
                           Deliverable(s)  have been delivered,  and (iii) while
                           reserving   the  right  to  delivery   additional  or
                           different  Deliverable(s),  that it is submitting the
                           matter to binding  arbitration in accordance  Section
                           12.12.

3.4      NONREFUNDABLE  NATURE.  All  payments  made  by  The  Cargill  Entities
         hereunder  are  nonrefundable,  but the making of any  payments  by The
         Cargill Entities to MMI shall in no way prevent or preclude The Cargill
         Entities  from  seeking,  pursuing,  and/or  recovering  any rights and
         remedies available under this Agreement.

 3.5     TAXES.  All amounts  payable under this  Agreement are exclusive of all
         sales, use, value-added,  withholding,  and other taxes and duties. The
         Cargill  Entities shall pay all sales and use taxes and duties assessed
         in connection  with the sale of products to or  performance of services
         for The Cargill  Entities under this  Agreement and its  performance by
         any authority within or outside of the U.S. The Parties shall be solely
         responsible  for the  payment  of any and all  taxes  payable  on their
         respective net income and the payment of any and all employment related
         taxes   attributable  to  their  respective   employees,   agents,  and
         representatives.

3.6      FAILURE BY THE CARGILL ENTITIES TO MAKE TIMELY PAYMENT.

         3.6.1    NOTICE AND RIGHT TO  TERMINATE.  In the event that MMI has not
                  received a payment  from The Cargill  Entities  due  hereunder
                  within the prescribed time period in violation of the terms of
                  this  Agreement,  MMI shall  notify The  Cargill  Entities  in
                  writing  of such  non-payment.  In the event  that MMI has not
                  received payment within fifteen (15) days after receipt by The
                  Cargill  Entities of such notice from MMI,  MMI shall have the
                  right to  suspend  further  work  under the Work  Plan  and/or
                  suspend The Cargill  Entities'  rights to the Joint IP. In the
                  event that such payment is not made within thirty (30) days of
                  The Cargill Entities'  receipt of such notice,  MMI also shall
                  have the right to declare The Cargill  Entities in default and
                  terminate this  Agreement  with immediate  effect by providing
                  written  notice to The  Cargill  Entities in  accordance  with
                  Section 7.2, in which case  ownership and rights in and to the
                  Joint IP and liability of The Cargill Entities shall be as set
                  forth in Section 7.2.

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         3.6.2    LATE PAYMENT FEE. Any payment due under this Agreement that is
                  not paid within the specified time period in  violation of the
                  terms of this  Agreement,  shall bear  interest  to the extent
                  permitted by  applicable  law, at two  percentage  points (2%)
                  over the prime rate of interest  compounded on an annual basis
                  as  reported  by  Bank  of  America  NT&SA  in San  Francisco,
                  California,  from time to time,  calculated  on the  number of
                  days such payment is delinquent.

                     4        CONFIDENTIALITY AND PUBLICATION

4.1      CONFIDENTIALITY.  The  Parties  acknowledge  that  the  Confidentiality
         Agreements  shall control all disclosures from its effective date up to
         and until the Effective Date of this Agreement.  The Parties agree that
         each Confidentiality Agreement is hereby superseded as of the Effective
         Date of this  Agreement by the terms and  conditions  set forth in this
         Section 4 and the other  applicable  terms and  conditions set forth in
         this Agreement.

         4.1.1    The  Parties  acknowledge  that  during  the  course  of  this
                  Agreement they may each receive (and hence become a "Receiving
                  Party") from the other (the  "Disclosing  Party")  information
                  electronically,  in writing,  or orally,  that is  proprietary
                  and/or  confidential and of commercial value to the Disclosing
                  Party.  The Parties agree that they shall take all  reasonable
                  measures to protect the  secrecy of and avoid  disclosure  and
                  unauthorized  use of  the  Confidential  Information.  Without
                  limiting the foregoing,  the Parties shall take at least those
                  measures  that  each  takes to  protect  its own  confidential
                  information of a similar  nature,  but in no event less than a
                  reasonable  degree of care.  Both  Parties  shall  immediately
                  notify the other in the event  either  Party has  knowledge of
                  any   unauthorized  use  or  disclosure  of  the  Confidential
                  Information.

         4.1.2    Except to the extent  expressly  authorized by this Agreement,
                  the  Parties  agree  that  the  Receiving   Party  shall  keep
                  confidential and shall not publish or otherwise disclose,  and
                  shall not use for any purpose,  any  Confidential  Information
                  furnished  to it by the  Disclosing  Party  pursuant  to  this
                  Agreement,  regardless  of the medium on which it is provided,
                  including  know-how,  except  to  the  extent  that  it can be
                  established  by the  Receiving  Party by competent  proof that
                  such information:

                  (a)      was already known to the Receiving Party,  other than
                           under an obligation of  confidentiality,  at the time
                           of disclosure by the Disclosing Party;

                  (b)      was generally  known to the public or otherwise  part
                           of the public domain at the time of its disclosure to
                           the Receiving Party;

                  (c)      became generally available to the public or otherwise
                           part  of  the  public  domain  after  its  disclosure
                           through no fault of the Receiving Party;

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                                  CONFIDENTIAL

                  (d)      was subsequently  lawfully disclosed to the Receiving
                           Party  by a  Third  Party  who did  not  require  the
                           Receiving Party to hold it in confidence or limit its
                           use, provided it was not obtained by such Third Party
                           under an  obligation of  confidentiality  directly or
                           indirectly from the Disclosing Party; or

                  (e)      was  independently  discovered  or  developed  by the
                           Receiving  Party  without  the use of the  Disclosing
                           Party's   Confidential   Information,   as   can   be
                           documented by written  records created at the time of
                           such independent discovery or development.

4.2      PERMITTED DISCLOSURE.

         4.2.1    Subject to Section 4.1, the  Receiving  Party may disclose the
                  Disclosing Party's Confidential Information only to the extent
                  such  disclosure  is required for  complying  with  applicable
                  laws;  regulations,  and/or  court or  administrative  orders;
                  provided however,  that in each case described in this Section
                  4.2.1, the Receiving Party shall (i) give at least twenty-four
                  (24)  hours  advance  notice to the  Disclosing  Party of such
                  disclosure  requirement;  (ii)  provide a copy of the proposed
                  disclosure;  and (iii) use commercially  reasonable efforts in
                  assisting  the   Disclosing   Party  to  secure   confidential
                  treatment, including a protective order, for such Confidential
                  Information required to be disclosed.

         4.2.2    The  Receiving  Party  may  disclose  the  Disclosing  Party's
                  Confidential   Information  only  to  the  Receiving   Party's
                  employees, contractors, consultants, or licensees who (a) have
                  a  need-to-know  and (b) are under contract not to disclose or
                  use Confidential  Information  except as otherwise provided in
                  this Agreement.

4.3      COPIES.  A Receiving  Party shall not make any copies of the Disclosing
         Party's Confidential  Information without the prior written approval of
         the  Disclosing  Party,  except  that,  subject to Section 7.2, (a) The
         Cargill Entities may make copies that are reasonably  necessary for the
         research and development of The Cargill Entities' Products, (b) MMI may
         make copies that are  reasonably  necessary for the conduct of the Work
         Plan,  and  (c)  copies  may be made  as a part  of any  effort  by the
         Steering   Committee   or  as  a  part  of  the   planning   for  joint
         commercialization.  Notwithstanding the foregoing,  the Receiving Party
         may  retain  one  (1)  copy  of  the  Disclosing  Party's  Confidential
         Information solely for legal archival purposes.

4.4      PUBLICATION.  Any Publications  shall not include any of the Disclosing
         Party's  Confidential  Information without the Disclosing Party's prior
         written consent and shall include appropriate  recognition of the other
         Party's  contributions  in  accordance  with the standard  practice for
         assigning    scientific   credit,    either   through   authorship   or
         acknowledgement as may be appropriate.

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                                  CONFIDENTIAL

         4.4.1    JOINT  PUBLICATION.  In the event  that the  Parties  agree to
                  jointly  prepare a Publication of the results of the Work Plan
                  in a mutually acceptable  scientific journal the Parties shall
                  (a)  jointly  draft  such  Publication  through  the  research
                  representatives;   (b)  prepare  such  Publication   within  a
                  mutually  agreed upon time  following  completion  of the Work
                  Plan;  and  (c)  have  such  joint  Publication  reviewed  and
                  approved  by the  duly  authorized  officers  of MMI  and  The
                  Cargill  Entities  prior to  submission  of the article to the
                  agreed  upon  scientific  journal.  Except by mutual  consent,
                  neither Party shall  release or otherwise  transfer any of the
                  results  from the Work Plan to any Third  Party or the  public
                  prior to the  date on which  such  joint  Publication  will be
                  released.

4.5      PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS.

         4.5.1    Except as may  otherwise  be  required  by law or  regulation,
                  neither Party shall make any public announcement,  directly or
                  indirectly,   concerning   the  existence  or  terms  of  this
                  Agreement (or the subject matter hereof) without obtaining the
                  prior consent of the other Party under Section 4.5.2; it being
                  envisioned,  however,  that there  shall be an initial  public
                  announcement of the existence of this Agreement.

         4.5.2    Unless  otherwise  agreed upon by the Parties,  the  reviewing
                  Party  shall have (a) ten (10)  calendar  days to consent  (or
                  decline  to  consent)  to  an  initial   public   announcement
                  concerning  the  existence or terms of this  Agreement (or the
                  subject matter  hereof),  such consent not to be  unreasonably
                  withheld  or  delayed;  or (b) thirty  (30)  calendar  days to
                  consent  to the  publication  of any  announcement  other than
                  those subject  to(.) (a), such consent not to be  unreasonably
                  withheld.  The  aforegoing  "reasonable"  standard  of consent
                  shall  not  apply  to  a   proposed   public   disclosure   of
                  Confidential  Information,  which  may  be  prohibited  by the
                  Disclosing Party in its sole and absolute discretion.

         4.5.3    If either Party shall be required by law or regulation to make
                  a public  announcement  concerning  the  existence or terms of
                  this  Agreement,  such  Party  shall  (a)  include  only  such
                  information in the public  announcement  that is  specifically
                  required,  and (b) give at least  forty-eight (48) hours prior
                  advance notice to the other Party and obtain the other Party's
                  comments.

4.6      EQUITABLE  RELIEF.  MMI and  The  Cargill  Entities  in  their  role as
         Receiving  Parties under this Agreement  hereby  acknowledge  and agree
         that with respect to the nature of the Confidential Information,  there
         may be no adequate remedy at law for any breach of their obligations as
         Receiving Party under the confidentiality provisions of this Agreement,
         that any such breach may result in  irreparable  harm to the Disclosing
         Party, and therefore, notwithstanding Section 12.12, that upon any such
         breach the Disclosing Party shall be entitled to seek equitable relief,
         in  addition  to  whatever  remedies  it might  have at law,  including
         injunctive

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                                  CONFIDENTIAL

         relief,  specific  performance,  or such other relief as the Disclosing
         Party may request to enjoin or otherwise  restrain  any act  prohibited
         hereby,  as well as the recovery of all reasonable  costs and expenses,
         including attorneys' fees incurred.

                          5         INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

5.1      MMI RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. MMI shall own all right, title and interest
         in and to MMI Technology.  MMI shall assume all  responsibility for all
         costs  associated  with  the  application,   prosecution,  maintenance,
         defense,  and enforcement of patent  applications  and patents claiming
         all or a portion of MMI Technology.

5.2      THE CARGILL ENTITIES RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. The Cargill Entities shall
         own all right,  title,  and  interest  in and to The  Cargill  Entities
         Material,  Samples,  and The Cargill Entities  Technology.  The Cargill
         Entities shall assume all  responsibility for all costs associated with
         the application,  prosecution, maintenance, defense, and enforcement of
         patent  applications  and  patents  claiming  all or a  portion  of The
         Cargill  Entities  Material,   Samples,  and/or  The  Cargill  Entities
         Technology.  Nothing  in this  Agreement  shall  prohibit  The  Cargill
         Entities from  continuing  work under any agreements with Third Parties
         relating  to  animal  genomics  research  that (1) were  signed  by The
         Cargill Entities prior to the Effective Date and (2) do not require SNP
         association analysis.

5.3      JOINT  INTELLECTUAL  PROPERTY RIGHTS.  Except as otherwise  provided in
         this Agreement, during the term of this Agreement all Joint IP shall be
         owned jointly by MMI and The Cargill  Entities and the following  shall
         apply:

         5.3.1    During the term of this  Agreement  (except as may be provided
                  in any Joint Commercialization  Agreement),  neither Party may
                  enter into any negotiations,  discussions,  or agreements with
                  any Third Party  regarding any  association  studies in any of
                  the  Targeted  Traits in bovine  animals  in  respect  to meat
                  production or  processing.  During the Term of this  Agreement
                  and, subject to Section 7.2,  thereafter,  the Parties may not
                  make, use, sell, license, or convey any rights in Joint IP for
                  any purpose  whatsoever (a) except upon joint  agreement among
                  the Parties, (b) except as set forth in Sections 3.3.3, 5.3.2,
                  7.2.1,  or 7.3, or (c) except in  furtherance of the Work Plan
                  set forth in this Agreement.  Neither Party (without the prior
                  written  agreement of the other Part) may use the Joint IP for
                  comparative  studies  and  other  uses in other  species  and,
                  excluding  meat  production  and  processing-related  uses, in
                  dairy cattle.

         5.3.2    In  the   event   that  the   Parties   enter   into  a  Joint
                  Commercialization  Agreement  prior to the  expiration  of the
                  term of this  Agreement,  the  Parties  respective  rights and
                  obligation with respect to the Joint IP thereafter shall be as
                  stated in such Agreement. In the event that

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                                  CONFIDENTIAL

                  the  Parties  do  not  enter  into a  Joint  Commercialization
                  Agreement  prior  to  the  expiration  of  the  Term  of  this
                  Agreement,  unless the  provisions of Section 7.2 shall apply,
                  the Joint IP shall continue to be owned jointly by MMI and The
                  Cargill  Entities  following the  expiration of this Agreement
                  with both  Parties  having the right,  subject to Section 8.5,
                  to  make,  use, sell, or sublicense the Joint IP to detect the
                  Targeted   Traits  in  bovine   animals  in  respect  to  meat
                  production or processing.

         5.3.3    In no event shall the rights and  restrictions  established in
                  this  Section 5.3 prevent  either  Party from  performing  its
                  rights and obligations under this Agreement.

         5.3.4    In order to ensure the  highest  trade  secret  protection  of
                  unpatented  Joint IP, in  recognition  of MMI's  research  and
                  development efforts among several species,  and in recognition
                  of the  confidential  and  restricted  nature of the databases
                  licensed  from  Celera,  subject to Section  7.8, MMI shall be
                  entitled to maintain complete confidentiality (on a "firewall"
                  basis  without any access by The Cargill  Entities) of the SNP
                  primer  pairs  and  SNP  amplicon  sequence  and  any  and all
                  unpatented Joint IP relating to the SNP Sets.  Notwithstanding
                  anything in this Section  5.3.4 to the  contrary,  The Cargill
                  Entities,  during the Term, upon reasonable  written notice of
                  at least two weeks, and not more than six times each year, may
                  conduct an on-site review of the firewalled information.  MMI,
                  for cause shown due to conflicting research efforts, may delay
                  the on-site review for longer than two weeks.

5.4      MMI PATENTS.  All United States and foreign  patent  applications  that
         pertain to any invention that is the property of MMI shall be prepared,
         filed, prosecuted, and the sole responsibility of MMI.

5.5      THE CARGILL  ENTITIES  PATENTS.  All United  States and foreign  patent
         applications which pertain to any invention that is the property of The
         Cargill  Entities shall be prepared,  filed,  prosecuted,  and the sole
         responsibility of The Cargill Entities.

5.6      JOINT IP PATENTS.  All United  States and foreign  patent  applications
         that  pertain  to any  invention  that is Joint  IP shall be  prepared,
         filed,  and  prosecuted  by counsel to be  mutually  agreed upon by the
         Parties at the time a decision is made to file such joint  application.
         The  Parties  presently  envision  a patent and trade  secret  strategy
         whereby  patents would be filed upon any  associations  of a trait to a
         specific   gene,   but  that  patents  would  not  be  filed  upon  any
         associations  of a trait to an SNP;  the  latter  would be guarded as a
         highly  confidential  trade  secret.  If the Parties  cannot agree with
         respect to a  particular  issue  (e.g.,  whether to file,  selection of
         counsel), such issue will be resolved pursuant to Section 12.12 of this
         Agreement. With regard to Joint IP patents, subject to Section 7.2, the

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         Parties will continue to consult in good faith after the termination of
         this Agreement for so long as Joint IP patents are being prosecuted and
         maintained,  or such shorter time as mutually  agreed to by the Parties
         in writing.  The Parties shall be equally  responsible for all expenses
         for prosecution  and  maintenance of Joint IP patents (unless  mutually
         agreed to be otherwise by the Parties in writing).

5.7      CELERA.  Nothing in this  Agreement is intended or shall be interpreted
         as  granting  to The  Cargill  Entities or any Third Party any right or
         interest in any intellectual property,  whether licensed to MMI or not,
         (a)  invented,  discovered,  developed,  or  otherwise  created  by  PE
         Corporation  (NY), or its  Affiliates,  including  the Celera  Genomics
         Group,  or (b)  acquired  or licensed by PE  Corporation  (NY),  or its
         Affiliates, including for the benefit of the Celera Genomics Group.

5.8      THIRD-PARTY INFRINGEMENT.  If MMI believes that the license,  transfer,
         or use of the data and information in the Dataset (and, in turn, in any
         Deliverable  or Joint  IP),  in whole or part,  infringes  any  patent,
         copyright,  trademark, or other proprietary right, or if the licensing,
         transfer,  or use of the Dataset, or any part thereof, is, as a result,
         enjoined,  then  MMI,  in  respect  to data  and  information  owned or
         licensed by MMI, in its sole  discretion and expense,  may: (a) procure
         for The Cargill  Entities  and itself the right under such  proprietary
         right to the Dataset or such part  thereof;  or (b) replace the data or
         information  with  other  non-infringing  data or  information;  or (c)
         remove the infringing data or information, or part thereof, and make an
         equitable adjustment of the fees paid hereunder as mutually agreed upon
         in  writing;  or (d) if such data and  information  was  received  from
         Cetera,  endeavor to cause Celera to address the situation.  In respect
         to any such data and  information  received from The Cargill  Entities,
         The Cargill  Entities shall replace the data or information  with other
         non-infringing  data or  information  (and, to the extent  appropriate,
         agree to such extensions, additional payments, and the like so that the
         completion of the Work Plan may proceed).

                 6         PERIOD OF EXCLUSIVITY FOR FEEDLOT TESTING

6.1      CARGILL  PERIOD OF  EXCLUSIVITY.  Commencing on the date upon which MMI
         delivers the Deliverable(s)  required under Part 4 of the Work Plan and
         provided that (a) The Cargill  Entities make the payment for Part 4 and
         (b) as set forth in Section 8.2, the Parties are  negotiating  toward a
         Joint Commercialization  Agreement,  and continuing for a period of ***
         months (the  "Cargill  Period of  Exclusivity"),  The Cargill  Entities
         shall have the exclusive  right,  without the right to  sublicense,  to
         make  and use of the  Joint  IP in its own  operations  to  detect  the
         Targeted  Traits  in  bovine  animals  owned,  grown,  fed,  purchased,
         evaluated  for  possible  purchase,  or processed by either The Cargill
         Entities  or any of  Excel's  "alliance"  partners  (as may exist as of
         March 1, 2002 under Excel's Alliance Agreements). No "alliance" partner
         shall have any rights to any Joint IP (notwithstanding the detection of
         Targeted  Traits in such  partner's,  animals) or be  considered  as an
         intended third party beneficiary of this Agreement.

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6.2      STANDSTILL IN THIRD PARTY  NEGOTIATIONS.  During the Cargill  Period of
         Exclusivity, MMI shall not enter into any negotiations, discussions, or
         agreements  regarding  any  association  studies in any of the Targeted
         Traits in bovine  animals in respect to meat  production  or processing
         regarding  the Joint IP with any Third  Party,  nor shall  either Party
         make,  use,  sell,  license,  or  convey  any  rights  in the Joint IP,
         internally or otherwise,  except to provide the services to The Cargill
         Entities as described in Section 6.3 or as set forth in Section 5.3.1.

6.3      DNA  COLLECTION  TOOL  AND MMI  SERVICES.  During the Cargill Period of
         Exclusivity, The Cargill Entities shall make use of the Joint IP in its
         operations  pursuant  to  this  Section  6   MMI  shall  provide  a DNA
         collection  tool  and  the  laboratory   and/or   diagnostic/analytical
         services to The Cargill Entities to enable The Cargill Entities to make
         use of the Joint IP in its own operations to detect the Targeted Traits
         in bovine  animals in respect to ***. MMI shall  provide such tools and
         services  to The  Cargill  Entities  at a fee equal to its cost  (which
         shall be  determined  by MMI in its  reasonable  judgment in accordance
         with  standard  accounting  norms,  but which  shall not exceed *** per
         test).  Such costs shall be invoiced by MMI on a monthly basis and paid
         by The  Cargill  Entities  within  thirty  (30) days.  It is the mutual
         expectation  of the  Parties  that the Joint IP will be  utilized  in a
         fashion in which The Cargill  Entities  will collect a blood sample for
         each  animal  that The  Cargill  Entities  desire to have the  Targeted
         Traits  detected and submit that blood sample to MMI for analysis using
         the Joint IP.  During the Cargill  Period of  Exclusivity,  The Cargill
         Entities  shall  submit,  in the  aggregate,  at least *** samples from
         bovine animals in respect to *** (and shall have the right to submit up
         to *** to MMI, and MMI shall analyze such samples.  The Parties  (which
         shall jointly  design the protocols for the  management of test animals
         and  collection of samples)  envision that the submitted  samples shall
         include samples from ***.

6.4      BREACHES AND CURES. In the event that the Cargill Period of Exclusivity
         has commenced (and is continuing) and MMI, thereafter, fails to provide
         the DNA  collection  tool  and/or  analytical  services  to The Cargill
         Entities  during the Cargill Period of  Exclusivity as required,  under
         this Section 6, The Cargill Entities, subject to and in accordance with
         Section 7.2 and MMI's failure to cure any breach,  shall have the right
         to (a) retain  another entity to provide such services and recover from
         MMI any  losses,  damages,  and  expenses  arising  from MMI's  breach,
         including  but not limited to the  difference  between the fees paid to
         the new service  provider and the fees that would have been paid to MMI
         had MMI performed  pursuant to this  Section,  (b) extend the period of
         exclusivity  and for the  provision  of  services  by an amount of time
         equal to the  delay  caused  by MMI (up to an  additional  twelve  (12)
         months), and/or (c) terminate this Agreement in accordance with Section
         7.3. In the event that The Cargill Entities fail to provide MMI with at
         least the minimum  number of samples on a regular and  continued  basis
         over the *** month Cargill Period of Exclusivity as required under

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                                  CONFIDENTIAL

         this Section 6, MMI,  subject to and in accordance with Section 7.2 and
         the failure of The Cargill Entities to cure any breach,  shall have the
         right to (a)  perform  necessary  and  appropriate  ***  scale  testing
         elsewhere  and recover from The Cargill  Entities any losses,  damages,
         and expenses arising from the breach by The Cargill Entities and/or (b)
         terminate this Agreement in accordance with Section 7.3.

                          7        TERM AND TERMINATION

7.1      TERM.  Unless  terminated  earlier as provided  herein,  this Agreement
         shall be in full force and effect for the Term.

7.2      DEFAULT.  If  either  Party  commits  a breach  of a  material  term or
         provision of this  Agreement at any time, and has not cured such breach
         within thirty (30) calendar days after written  notice  thereof,  which
         notice must state the nature of the breach in reasonable  detail,  from
         the non-breaching  Party,  then the non-breaching  Party shall have the
         right to declare the  defaulting  Party in breach and to terminate this
         Agreement effective upon written notice thereof to the breaching Party.
         In the event that a claimed  breach is of a nature that cannot be cured
         within thirty (30) days, but may reasonably be cured within ninety (90)
         days, the breaching Party (upon notice to the non-breaching  Party) may
         extend the cure period up to ninety (90) days, in total,  provided that
         the  breaching  Party has  promptly  commenced  (and  shall  thereafter
         continue to pursue)  efforts to effect such cure. (The payment of money
         or the  procurement  of  insurance  shall  never,  by their  respective
         natures,  be a matter  requiring a cure of more than thirty (30) days.)
         Any notices  under this Section 7.2 must be addressed to the  person(s)
         and/or office(s) identified in Section 12.9.

         7.2.1    In the event this  Agreement  is  terminated  by either  Party
                  pursuant  to this  Section  7.2,  the  defaulting  Party shall
                  automatically  relinquish and forfeit all of its rights, title
                  and interest in and to the Joint IP, and upon such termination
                  all of its rights,  title, and interest in and to the Joint IP
                  shall  immediately  transfer  to  the  non-defaulting   Party.
                  Thereafter,  the defaulting Party shall have no right to make,
                  sell,  license  or  convey  any  rights in Joint IP or use the
                  Joint IP for any purpose  whatsoever,  and the  non-defaulting
                  Party shall have the sole and  exclusive  right to make,  use,
                  sell or sublicense the Joint IP to detect the Targeted  Traits
                  in bovine animals in respect to meat  production or processing
                  or  for  any  other  purpose  whatsoever,  including,  without
                  limitation,  the right to  collaborate  with other  parties to
                  complete the activities contemplated by this Agreement.

         7.2.2    In the event this  Agreement  is  terminated  by either  Party
                  pursuant to this Section 7.2,  the  defaulting  Party shall be
                  liable  to  the  non-defaulting  party  with  respect  to  all
                  obligations  arising  on  or  prior  to  the  default  by  the
                  defaulting   Party,   but   shall   not  be   liable   to  the
                  non-defaulting for the non-

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                  performance of any obligations  under this Agreement that were
                  due after such termination,  except for a violation of Section
                  7.2.1. Specifically, for example:

                  (a)      in the event that The Cargill Entities fail to make a
                           payment  that is due to MMI in  accordance  with  the
                           provisions of Section 3, MMI shall,  after  providing
                           notice and  otherwise  following the  procedures  set
                           forth  in  this  Section  7.2,   have  the  right  to
                           terminate this Agreement, in which case (i) MMI shall
                           become the sole  owner of the Joint IP in  accordance
                           with  Section  7.2.1,  and (ii) The Cargill  Entities
                           shall  remain  liable  to MMI for the  amount  of the
                           missed payment,  but shall have no further  liability
                           to MMI for any  payments  that were to be made by The
                           Cargill  Entities to MMI  following  the date of such
                           termination; and

                  (b)      in the event that MMI fails to deliver  the  required
                           Deliverable(s)  to The  Cargill  Entities as required
                           under the Work  Plan,  The  Cargill  Entities  shall,
                           after  providing  notice and otherwise  following the
                           procedures  set forth in this Section  7.2,  have the
                           right to terminate this Agreement,  in which case (i)
                           The Cargill  Entities  shall become the sole owner of
                           the Joint IP in accordance  with Section  7.2.1,  and
                           (ii)  MMI  shall  have no  further  liability  to The
                           Cargill Entities arising from  non-performance of the
                           remaining Parts of the Work Plan and  non-delivery of
                           the Deliverable(s) due from MMI following the-date of
                           such termination.

         Notwithstanding  anything in this  Section 7.2 to the  contrary,  MMI's
         failure  to  deliver  any   Deliverable(s)  due  to  either  scientific
         impossibility  or  the   impracticability  of  the  effort  (e.g.,  the
         association  study  requiring  substantially  more than the ten million
         (10,000,000)  genotypes"  maximum set forth in the Work Plan) shall not
         constitute  a  breach  of this  Agreement  and the  provisions  of this
         Section 7.2 in regard to termination of this Agreement and ownership of
         Joint IP shall not apply. Instead,  either (1) Sections 3.3.3 and 5.3.2
         or (2) Section 7.4.1 shall govern in such instance.

7.3      RIQHT TO TERMINATE PRIOR TO EXPIRATION OF TERM. Either Party shall have
         the right to  terminate  this  Agreement,  with or without  cause,  and
         without  further  liability  to the other Party  except as set forth in
         this Section 7.3, in accordance with the following procedures:

         7.3.1    Each Party shall have the right to  terminate  this  Agreement
                  exercisable at the following time by providing  written notice
                  to the other Party: following full completion of Part 3 of the
                  Work  Plan  (i.e.  after  delivery  by  MMI  of  the  required
                  Deliverable(s)  and after the required  payment by The Cargill
                  Entities) but before  commencement of work under Part 4 of the
                  Work Plan.  In  addition,  in the event  only that  applicable
                  Federal law  hereafter  prohibits  the Cargill  Entities  from
                  owning or  controlling  livestock  for more than fourteen days
                  prior to slaughter (as, for example,  set forth in Senate Bill
                  142 of the 107th Congress, 1st Session).

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                  The Cargill Entities may also have the right to terminate this
                  Agreement  exercisable  at  either of the  following  times by
                  providing written notice to MMI: (a) following full completion
                  of Part 1 of the Work Plan (i.e., after delivery by MMI of the
                  required  Deliverable(s) and after the required payment by The
                  Cargill Entities, but before commencement of work under Part 2
                  of the Work Plan) or (b) following the full completion of Part
                  2 of  the  Work  Plan  (i.e.,  after  delivery  by  MMI of the
                  required  Deliverable(s) and after the required payment by The
                  Cargill Entities, but before commencement of work under Part 3
                  of the Work Plan).

         7.3.2    In the event  that  either  Party  terminates  this  Agreement
                  pursuant  to this  Section  7.3,  the  Party  who  elected  to
                  terminate this Agreement in accordance with such Section shall
                  automatically relinquish and forfeit all of its rights, title,
                  and interest in and to the Joint IP, and upon such termination
                  all of its rights,  title, and interest in and to the Joint IP
                  shall immediately transfer to the other Party. Thereafter, the
                  Party who  elected to  terminate  shall have no right to make,
                  sell,  license,  or convey  any rights in Joint IP for use the
                  Joint IP for any purpose whatsoever, and the other Party shall
                  have the sole and  exclusive  right  to make,  use,  sell,  or
                  sublicense  the  Joint IP to  detect  the  Targeted  Traits in
                  bovine  animals in respect to meat  production  or  processing
                  including  the right to  collaborate  with  other  parties  to
                  complete the activities contemplated by this Agreement.

         7.3.3    In the event this  Agreement  is  terminated  by either  Party
                  pursuant  to this  Section  7.3,  the  Party  who  elected  to
                  terminate  shall continue to be liable to the other Party with
                  respect to all obligations  arising on or prior to the date of
                  such  termination,  but shall not be liable to the other Party
                  for  the   non-performance   of  any  obligations  under  this
                  Agreement  that would  otherwise have arisen after the date of
                  termination.  Specifically,  for  example,  in the  event  The
                  Cargill Entities elect to terminate this Agreement pursuant to
                  this  Section  7.3, (i) MMI shall become the sole owner of the
                  Joint IP and (ii) The Cargill  Entities shall remain liable to
                  MMI for the  amount of the missed  payment,  but shall have no
                  further liability to MMI for any payments that were to be made
                  by The  Cargill  Entities  to MMI  following  the date of such
                  termination  by The Cargill  Entities in accordance  with this
                  Section 7.3.

7.4      Termination Based on Recommendation of Steering Committee. If, pursuant
         to Section 2.1.1(d),  the Steering Committee makes a recommendation not
         to proceed to the next Part of the Work Plan, the senior  executives of
         the Parties shall meet to discuss the  recommendation and the following
         shall apply:

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         7.4.1    In the event that both Parties  agree with the  recommendation
                  of  the  Steering  Committee,  the  Parties  shall  execute  a
                  document indicating their decision not to proceed with further
                  work  under  the  Work  Plan  and to  jointly  terminate  this
                  Agreement.  Upon a termination of this  Agreement  pursuant to
                  this  Section  7.4.1,  neither  Party  shall have any  further
                  liability  to the  other for  future  obligations  under  this
                  Agreement and the Joint IP shall  continue to be jointly owned
                  by MMI and The Cargill  Entities  following such  termination,
                  with  both  Parties  having  the right to make,  use,  sell or
                  sublicense  the  Joint IP to  detect  the  Targeted  Traits in
                  bovine animals in respect to production or meat processing.

         7.4.2    In  the   event   that   both   Parties   disagree   with  the
                  recommendation  of the Steering  Committee,  the Parties shall
                  confirm their joint  decision in writing and the Parties shall
                  proceed to the next Part of the Work Plan.

In the event one Party concurs with the recommendation of the Steering Committee
and one does not,  the Party that  concurs  with the  recommendation  shall send
written  confirmation of its decision to the other Party and such Party shall be
deemed to have  elected to  terminate  this  Agreement  pursuant  to Section 7.3
above,  with the  Parties  having  the rights  and  obligations  as set forth in
Section 7.3 above.

7.5      BANKRUPTCY.  Either Party may terminate this Agreement immediately upon
         the occurrence of any of the following  events:  (a) if the other Party
         ceases  to   do  business,   or  otherwise   terminates   its  business
         operations;   or  (b)  the  other  Party  seeks  protection  under  any
         bankruptcy,    receivership,   trust   deed,   creditors   arrangement,
         composition,  or comparable  proceeding,  or if any such  proceeding is
         instituted  against  the other  Party.  All rights  granted  under this
         Agreement are deemed to be, for purposes of 365(n) of the United States
         Bankruptcy Code,  rights to intellectual property as defined by 101(56)
         of the United States Bankruptcy Code and the  Parties will  retain  and
         may fully exercise all of their rights under this Agreement.

7.6      CONSEQUENCES OF  TERMINATION.  Upon  termination of this Agreement,  in
         addition  to any  provisions  specifically  addressed  in  any  Section
         regarding  terminations,  the following provisions shall survive: 4, 5,
         7.6, 7.7, 10, 11, and 12.  Expiration or  termination of this Agreement
         shall not affect any rights or  obligations  of either  party  accruing
         prior to such expiration or termination.

7.7      REMEDIES.  The rights and remedies provided in this Section 7 shall not
         be exclusive  and shall be in addition to any other rights and remedies
         available at law or in equity.

7.8      ESCROW  OF  FIREWALLED  SNP  SET  INFORMATION.   MMI  shall  provide  a
         third-party escrow agent (reasonably acceptable to The Cargill Entities
         and under  written  contract  with the Parties)  with an SNP Set escrow
         deposit  upon the  completion  of Part 1 and, on an ongoing  up-to-date
         basis upon the completion of each Part

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         thereafter,  such  information  as would be  necessary  for a qualified
         Third Party to continue any research and development into the next part
         of the Work Plan and, as envisioned in Section 8.1, to develop  genomic
         DNA-based  diagnostic  products.  (However,  the Parties recognize that
         MMI, in accordance with Section 5.7, shall not provide the escrow agent
         with any confidential  information  owned by Cetera and not part of any
         MMI  Technology,   e.g.,  Celera's  bovine  SNP  maps,  database,   and
         technology  to which  MMI has  access by  virtue  of its  license  from
         Celera,  but as to which MMI has no right to  sublicense.)  Such escrow
         agent  (as  an  agent  for  the  Partners)  shall  hold  such  escrowed
         confidential  information  on a strict  confidentiality  basis.  Upon a
         termination of this Agreement  under Sections 3.3.3,  5.3.2,  7.2.1 (in
         the  event of an MMI  breach  and  declaration  of  termination  by The
         Cargill  Entities),  7.3 (in the event of MMI's  exercise of a right to
         terminate  thereunder),  or  7.4.1,  the  escrow  agent  (upon at least
         fifteen (15) days prior written  notice by The Cargill  Entities to the
         escrow agent and to MMI) shall release such escrowed information to The
         Cargill Entities. In such event, MMI may challenge by Section 12.12 any
         such release (thereby delaying it). The Cargill Entities,  upon receipt
         of any such  information  shall  treat it as  highly  confidential  and
         maintain it as a closely guarded trade secret.

                      8 JOINT COMMERCIALIZATION OF PRODUCTS

8.1      INTENT.  The objective of this Agreement is to jointly  develop genomic
         DNA-based  diagnostic  products (the "Products") to detect the Targeted
         Traits in bovine animals in respect to meat production or processing in
         the animal  production and meat processing  industries with the goal of
         jointly  commercializing  such Products for sale, following the Cargill
         Period  of  Exclusivity,   to  potential  buyers  in  these  industries
         initially in *** and, ultimately ***.

8.2      NEGOTIATION  OF AGREEMENT.  Upon  completion of Part 4 of the Work Plan
         and the making of the payment for Part 4 of the Work Plan,  the Parties
         shall thereupon and thereafter negotiate in good faith (with each other
         and perhaps also with third  parties)  the terms of a definitive  Joint
         Commercialization  Agreement  regarding the  development,  manufacture,
         marketing,  sales,  delivery,  and  distribution of the Products to The
         Cargill  Entities and following the expiration of the Cargill Period of
         Exclusivity, to others. Unless this Agreement is sooner terminated, for
         at least *** months  after the  completion  of Part 4 of the Work Plan,
         such  negotiations  shall continue and neither Party may enter into any
         negotiations,  discussions,  or agreements  regarding the  development,
         manufacture,  marketing,  sales,  delivery,  and  distribution  of such
         Products with any Third Party, notwithstanding.

8.3      CORE  COMMERCIALIZATION  CONCEPTS.  Due to the intrinsic  uncertainties
         associated  with  the type of  research  project  contemplated  by this
         Agreement,  the Parties desire to retain a degree of  flexibility  with
         respect   to  the   precise   terms  and   structure   that  the  Joint
         Commercialization Agreement may take.

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                                  CONFIDENTIAL

         At the same time,  however,  the Parties  desire to set forth below the
         general  commercialization  concepts on which they have  reached  basic
         agreement and around which they will conduct  their  negotiations  (the
         "Core Commercialization Concepts"):

         (a)      The Parties  desire to pursue joint  commercialization  of the
                  Products   only  if  such  an  effort  is  likely  to  achieve
                  acceptable  returns.  The  Parties  will  jointly  develop and
                  prepare a  five-year  financial  forecast  (for the  five-year
                  period   following   expiration  of  the  Cargill   Period  of
                  Exclusivity) of the income statement and balance sheet for the
                  commercialization of the Products.

         (b)      The Parties  desire to pursue joint  commercialization  of the
                  Products  only if the Products are  technically  effective and
                  thus attractive to potential  buyers.  Presently,  the Parties
                  anticipate  proceeding  with  joint  commercialization  of the
                  Products  only if the Products are  envisioned  to cost to the
                  end user, per test, is less than, per animal, ***. The Parties
                  shall  formally   assess  the  likelihood  of  exceeding  such
                  thresholds  upon  the  conclusion  of  Part  3  and  upon  the
                  conclusion of Part 4.

         (c)      The Parties,  after reimbursing MMI for the actual cost of the
                  test (which cost (i) shall be determined  in  accordance  with
                  generally accepted accounting  standards after a review by The
                  Cargill   Entities  of  such  cost  and  (ii)  may  include  a
                  reasonable  apportionment  of the cost of any new or  expanded
                  facility for the production of such tests and the provision of
                  test-related  services),  will split net profits and/or losses
                  arising  from  commercialization  of the  Products on an equal
                  50/50 basis. MMI shall consult with The Cargill Entities prior
                  to the  purchase of a new facility or expansion of an existing
                  facility  in  regard  to  the  production  of  tests  and  the
                  provision  of  test-related  services  if MMI then  intends to
                  include an  apportionment  of such cost in the deemed  "actual
                  cost" of the test.

         (d)      The Parties will each contribute people and other resources to
                  the joint commercialization  effort at their direct costs. For
                  example,  MMI will produce and provide the DNA collection tool
                  and the laboratory  and/or  diagnostic/analytical  services to
                  the joint commercialization effort at its direct cost (as such
                  cost is calculated in accordance with Section 6.3).

         (e)      The Parties will use their joint commercialization vehicle not
                  only for the Products,  but also for any other traits  related
                  to *** in meat  producing  bovines or  relating  to  DNA-based
                  diagnostic tools that the Parties may be involved with.

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(f)      The Parties  will target a price for the  Products  based upon at least
         *** as determined during the Cargill Period of Exclusivity.

(g)      Subsequent  to the  Cargill  Period of  Exclusivity  (or if The Cargill
         Entities,  with the  agreement  of MMI,  desire to exceed  ***  samples
         during such Period,  shall pay the same price for the Products as would
         a Third Party  (although the net revenue as of such sale to The Cargill
         Entities would be split between The Cargill Entities and MMI).

(h)      The Parties shall assess  whether the  authorized use of any diagnostic
         Product should be restricted initially to ***.

8.4      INABILITY TO REACH AGREEMENT.  In the event that the Parties are unable
         to reach agreement on the terms of a Joint Commercialization  Agreement
         for any reason whatsoever within the time set forth in Section 8.2, the
         provisions  of Section  5.3.2 and Section  8.5 shall  apply  unless the
         Parties then otherwise agree.

8.5      ROYALTIES PAID TO OTHER JOINT IP PARTY.  In the event that both parties
         are permitted to make,  use, sell, or sublicense the Joint IP to detect
         the Targeted  Traits in bovine animals in respect to meat production or
         processing in accordance with (a) Sections 5.3.2 and 8.4 or (b) Section
         7.4.1,  either Party so making,  using,  selling,  or sublicensing such
         Joint IP in such fashion  shall pay the other Party  (i.e.,  MMI to The
         Cargill  Entities or The Cargill  Entities to MMI) a quarterly  royalty
         upon sales (for the greater of the life of any patent upon any Joint IP
         or fifteen (15) years). Such royalty shall be a percentage of net gross
         sales,  which shall be gross sales less the aggregate cost of continued
         research and development (but not, in this respect, exceeding more than
         one-half of gross sales),  marketing,  insurance, and shipping (but not
         net of taxes), as follows:

         PERCENTAGE         CONDITION OR TIMING
         ----------         ----------------------------------------------------
            ***             If Part 3 never completed.
            ***             If Part 3, but no subsequent Part was completed.
            ***             If Part 4 was completed, but the Parties elected not
                            to proceed with feedlot  testing under Section 6 and
                            did  not  enter   into  a  Joint   Commercialization
                            Agreement.
            ***             If feedlot  testing was undertaken  under Section 6,
                            but  the   Parties   did  not  enter  into  a  Joint
                            Commercialization Agreement.

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             9        REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES AND GENERAL COVENANTS

9.1      Each Party represents and warrants to the other Party, upon on the date
         upon which this Agreement is executed and upon the commencement of each
         Part of the Work Plan, that:

         (a)      it is duly organized and validly existing and in good standing
                  under  the laws of the state of its  incorporation  and it has
                  the corporate power and authority and the legal right to enter
                  into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder;

         (b)      the  execution   and  delivery  of  this   Agreement  and  the
                  performance of the transactions  contemplated hereby have been
                  duly  authorized  by all necessary  corporate  actions of such
                  Party and the person  executing  this  Agreement  on behalf of
                  each Party has been duly  authorized to do so by all requisite
                  corporate actions;

         (c)      the  execution   and  delivery  of  this   Agreement  and  the
                  performance by such Party of any of its obligations under this
                  Agreement do not (i) conflict  with, or constitute a breach or
                  violation of, any other contractual  obligation to which it is
                  a  Party,  any  judgment  of any  court or  governmental  body
                  applicable to such Party or its properties or, to such Party's
                  knowledge,  any statute,  decree, order, rule or regulation of
                  any court or  governmental  agency or body  applicable to such
                  Party  or  its  properties,  and  (ii)  with  respect  to  the
                  execution and delivery of this Agreement,  require any consent
                  or approval of any Third Party;

         (d)      it is aware of no  action,  suit,  inquiry,  or  investigation
                  contemplated  or instituted by any Third Party that  questions
                  or threatens the validity of this Agreement; and

         (e)      this  Agreement  is legally  binding upon its  execution  and,
                  subject  to the  discretion  of courts in  awaiting  equitable
                  relief   and   to   applicable   bankruptcy,   reorganization,
                  insolvency,  moratorium,  and  similar  laws,  enforceable  in
                  accordance with its terms.

9.2      The Cargill  Entities  represent  and warrant that they are entitled to
         use and transfer to MMI the Samples,  data, and/or  information for the
         purpose(s) set forth in this Agreement.

9.3      Each Party shall (a) comply with all applicable laws, regulations,  and
         guidelines  in  connection   with  that  Party's   performance  of  its
         obligations and exercise of its rights pursuant to this Agreement,  (b)
         maintain  good  standing  under  the  laws  of the  jurisdiction  of is
         incorporation,  and (c) not enter into any contractual  obligation that
         would conflict with or constitute a breach or violation of any material
         provision of this Agreement.

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                    10      DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

10.1     NOTWITHSTANDING  SECTION 5.8, NOTHING IN THIS AGREEMENT  (EXCEPT TO THE
         LIMITED  EXTENT  SET FORTH IN  SECTION  9.2)  SHALL BE  CONSTRUED  AS A
         REPRESENTATION  MADE OR WARRANTY GIVEN BY EITHER PARTY OR ITS SUPPLIERS
         THAT THE USE OF ANY  INFORMATION,  DATA,  OR OTHER  MATERIALS  PROVIDED
         HEREUNDER WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY PATENT, COPYRIGHT,  TRADEMARK, OR OTHER
         RIGHTS OF ANY THIRD PARTY.  THE  INFORMATION,  DATA, OR OTHER MATERIALS
         PROVIDED  BY  EITHER  PARTY  HEREUNDER  ARE  PROVIDED  "AS IS"  WITHOUT
         WARRANTY  OF ANY KIND  WHATSOEVER,  EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,  INCLUDING  THE
         IMPLIED  WARRANTIES  OF  MERCHANTABILITY  OR FITNESS  FOR A  PARTICULAR
         PURPOSE.  NEITHER PARTY MAKES ANY WARRANTY THAT THE DELIVERABLES DO NOT
         CONTAIN ERRORS OR, IF APPLICABLE,  THAT ANY ASSEMBLED ORGANISM DOES NOT
         CONTAIN GAPS.

10.2     IN NO EVENT SHALL EITHER PARTY OR THEIR  AFFILIATES  BE LIABLE FOR LOST
         PROFITS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF BUSINESS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION,  LOSS OF
         DATA,  COST  OF  COVER  OR  ANY  INDIRECT,  SPECIAL,  CONSEQUENTIAL  OR
         INCIDENTAL DAMAGES OF ANY NATURE  WHATSOEVER,  HOWEVER CAUSED AND UNDER
         ANY THEORY OF  LIABILITY  WHETHER  BASED IN  CONTRACT,  WARRANTY,  TORT
         (INCLUDING   WITHOUT   LIMITATION,   NEGLIGENCE),   STRICT   LIABILITY,
         STATUTORY,  OR  OTHERWISE,  ARISING OUT OF OR IN  CONNECTION  WITH THIS
         AGREEMENT  EVEN IF THE OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE  POSSIBILITY
         OF SUCH DAMAGES.

10.3     THE  LIABILITY  OF THE PARTIES,  THEIR  RESPECTIVE  AGENTS,  EMPLOYEES,
         SUBCONTRACTORS,  AND  SUPPLIERS  WITH  RESPECT  TO ANY AND  ALL  SUITS,
         ACTIONS,  LEGAL  PROCEEDINGS,  CLAIMS,  DEMANDS,  DAMAGES,  COSTS,  AND
         EXPENSES  ARISING  OUT  OF THE  PERFORMANCE  OR  NONPERFORMANCE  OF ANY
         OBLIGATIONS UNDER THIS AGREEMENT,  WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, WARRANTY,
         TORT (INCLUDING,  WITHOUT  LIMITATION,  NEGLIGENCE),  STRICT LIABILITY,
         STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, SHALL BE LIMITED TO (a) DIRECT, ACTUAL DAMAGES
         INCURRED  AS A RESULT OF ITS  FAILURE TO  PERFORM  ITS  OBLIGATIONS  AS
         REQUIRED BY THIS  AGREEMENT,  AND (b) EXCEPT IN RESPECT TO THE PAYMENTS
         SET FORTH IN EXHIBIT C, SHALL NOT EXCEED IN THE  AGGREGATE  A SUM EQUAL
         TO TWO MILLION DOLLARS.

10.4     NOTWITHSTANDING  ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED HEREIN, THE PARTIES
         RECOGNIZE THAT ANY JOINT TECHNOLOGY  DISCOVERED,  CREATED, OR DEVELOPED
         UNDER  THIS   AGREEMENT  MAY  BE  SUBJECT  TO  A  THIRD  PARTY'S  PRIOR
         INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS.

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                               11        INDEMNITY

11.1     THE CARGILL ENTITIES INDEMNITY. Subject to the limitations set forth in
         Section 10 above,  The Cargill Entities shall  indemnify,  defend,  and
         hold harmless MMI (including its officers,  directors,  employees,  and
         agents) from and against all personal or property losses,  liabilities,
         damages, and expenses (including  reasonable attorneys' fees and costs)
         arising (a) out of the falsehood or inaccuracy in any material  respect
         of  any   representation   or   warranty   or  out  of  the  breach  or
         non-fulfillment  of any  material  covenant or agreement of The Cargill
         Entities contained herein or contemplated  hereby; (b) out of the gross
         negligence  or  intentional  misconduct  of  The  Cargill  Entities  in
         connection  with  the  performance  of  The  Cargill  Entities  of  its
         obligations  under  this  Agreement;  and/or  (c)  out of  The  Cargill
         Entities' use of The Cargill Entities Technology;  except to the extent
         any such loss, liability,  damage, or expense arises from the action or
         inaction of MMI.

11.2     MMI  INDEMNITY.  Subject  to the  limitations  set forth in  Section 10
         above,  MMI shall  indemnify,  defend,  and hold  harmless  The Cargill
         Entities (including its officers, directors, employees and agents) from
         and against all personal or property losses, liabilities,  damages, and
         expenses (including  reasonable  attorneys' fees and costs) arising (a)
         out of the  falsehood  or  inaccuracy  in any  material  respect of any
         representation  or warranty or out of the breach or  nonfulfillment  of
         any  material   covenant  or  agreement  of  MMI  contained  herein  or
         contemplated  hereby or (b) out of the gross  negligence or intentional
         misconduct of MMI in connection with the performance of its obligations
         under  this  Agreement,  and/or  (c)  out  of  the  MMI's  use  of  MMI
         Technology;  except to the extent any such loss,  liability,  damage or
         expense arises from the action or inaction of The Cargill Entities.

11.3     PROCEDURE.  The Indemnitee  shall promptly notify the Indemnitor of any
         loss,  liability,  damage,  expense,  claim,  demand,  action, or other
         proceeding  in  respect of which the  Indemnitee  intends to claim such
         indemnification, and the Indemnitor shall have the right to participate
         in, and, to the extent the  Indemnitor  so  desires,  jointly  with any
         other Indemnitor  similarly noticed, to assume the defense thereof with
         counsel  selected by the Indemnitor and reasonably  satisfactory to the
         Indemnitee;  provided, however, that an Indemnitee shall have the right
         to retain its own counsel, with the fees and expenses to be paid by the
         Indemnitee,  if  representation  of  such  Indemnitee  by  the  counsel
         retained  by the  Indemnitor  would be  inappropriate  due to actual or
         potential  differing  interests  between such  Indemnitee and any other
         Party  represented by such counsel in such  proceedings.  The indemnity
         agreement  in this  Section  11  shall  not  apply to  amounts  paid in
         settlement of any loss,  liability,  damage,  expense,  claim,  demand,
         action,  or other  proceeding  if such  settlement  shall  be  effected
         without  the  consent of the  Indemnitor,  which  consent  shall not be
         unreasonably  withheld. The failure to deliver notice to the Indemnitor
         within a reasonable time after the

                                       24
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                                  CONFIDENTIAL

         commencement  of any such  action,  if  prejudicial  to its  ability to
         defend such action,  shall relieve such  Indemnitor of any liability to
         the  Indemnitee  under  this  Section 11 to the  extent  Indemnitor  is
         prejudiced by  Indemnitee's  delay,  but the omission of such notice to
         the Indemnitor will not relieve it of any liability that it may have to
         the Indemnitee otherwise than under this Section 11. The Indemnitor may
         not settle the action or  otherwise  consent to an adverse  judgment in
         such action or other proceeding that effects the rights or interests of
         the Indemnitee  without the express  written consent of the Indemnitee.
         The  Indemnitee  under this Section 11, and its  employees  and agents,
         shall cooperate fully with the Indemnitor and its legal representatives
         in the investigation of any action,  claim or liability covered by this
         indemnification.

11.4     INSURANCE.  Each  Party  shall  maintain,   through  self-insurance  or
         commercially placed insurance,  adequate coverage for the tort-related,
         non-contract-based  indemnification  obligations  set forth  herein and
         shall  provide  competent  proof of such  insurance  within  three  (3)
         business days after receipt of a written request from the other Party.

                              12 GENERAL PROVISIONS

12.1     NO  PARTNERSHIP.  Nothing in this  Agreement  is  intended  or shall be
         deemed   to   constitute    partnership,    agency,    distributorship,
         employer-employee,  or joint venture  relationship  between The Cargill
         Entities  and  MMI.  No  Party  shall  incur  any  debts  or  make  any
         commitments for the other.

12.2     ASSIGNMENTS.   Neither   Party  shall  assign  any  of  its  rights  or
         obligations  hereunder  in whole or in  part,  except  (notwithstanding
         anything  in  Section  5.3.1,  Section  6.2,  or  Section  8.2  to  the
         contrary):   (a)   as   incident   to   the   merger,    consolidation,
         reorganization,  or  acquisition  of  stock  or  assets  or  a  similar
         transaction  affecting all or substantially all of the assets or voting
         control of the  assigning  Party;  or (b) to any directly or indirectly
         wholly-owned  subsidiary  if the  assigning  Party  remains  liable and
         responsible   for  the   performance  and  observance  of  all  of  the
         subsidiary's duties and obligations contained in this Agreement; or (c)
         in any conveyance of assets that are material to the performance of any
         obligation contained in this Agreement,  or (d) with the consent of the
         other Party,  such consent not to be unreasonably  withheld or delayed.
         Upon any such assignment, the assigning Party, the other Party, and the
         permitted  assignee  shall  enter  into  an  appropriate   confirmatory
         agreement.  Notwithstanding  anything  in  this  Section  12.2  to  the
         contrary,  The Cargill Entities, if they are the assigning Party, shall
         give MMI  reasonable  advance  notice if the intended  assignee has any
         operations in poultry, swine, or other non-bovine livestock,  whereupon
         appropriate  "fire wall"  confidentiality  restrictions  shall first be
         established  within  the  assignee  entity.  This  Agreement  shall  be
         binding,  upon the successors and permitted assigns of the Parties, and
         the name of a Party  appearing  herein  shall be deemed to include  the
         names of such Party's  successors  and permitted  assigns to the extent
         necessary to carry out the intent

                                       25
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                                  CONFIDENTIAL

         of this  Agreement.  Any  assignment  not in accordance  with the above
         shall be void.

12.3     FURTHER ACTIONS.  The Parties agree to promptly  execute,  acknowledge,
         and deliver such further instruments, and to do all such other acts, as
         may be necessary or  appropriate in order to carry out the purposes and
         intent of this Agreement.

12.4     NO TRADEMARK RIGHTS.  Except as otherwise  provided herein or agreed to
         in advance in writing, no right, express or implied, is granted by this
         Agreement  to  use  in  any  manner  the  trade  names  and  trademarks
         "Cargill,"   "Excel,"  "Caprock,"   "MetaMorphix,"   "Celera,"  "Celera
         Genomics," "PE Corporation (NY)," "Applera," or any other trade name or
         trademark of a Party,  its  Affiliates,  or the names of any  employees
         thereof,  for any purpose other than the Parties' internal purposes and
         uses.

12.5     ENTIRE AGREEMENT OF THE PARTIES; AMENDMENTS. This Agreement,  including
         its Exhibits,  constitutes  and contains the entire  understanding  and
         agreement of the Parties and cancels and  supersedes  any and all prior
         negotiations,  correspondence,  representations,   understandings,  and
         agreements,  whether verbal or written,  between the Parties respecting
         the subject matter  hereof.  In case of any  discrepancies  between the
         terms  incorporated  from the  Exhibits  and the terms of the  sections
         herein,   the  terms  of  the  sections  shall   prevail.   No  waiver,
         modification,  or amendment of any provision of this Agreement  (and/or
         the  Exhibits)  shall be valid or effective  unless made in writing and
         signed by a duly authorized  representative  of each Party. The failure
         or delay of either  Party in  enforcing  any of its  rights  under this
         Agreement shall not be deemed a continuing  waiver or a modification by
         such Party of such right.

12.6     SEVERABILITY.  In the event any that one or more of the  provisions  of
         this Agreement  should for any reason be held by any court or authority
         having jurisdiction over this Agreement  or either of the Parties to be
         invalid, illegal, or unenforceable,  such provision or provisions shall
         be validly reformed to as nearly as possible  approximate the intent of
         the Parties and, if  unreformable,  shall be  divisible  and deleted in
         such jurisdiction;  elsewhere,  this Agreement shall not be affected so
         long as the Parties are still able to realize  the  principal  benefits
         bargained for in this Agreement.

12.7     HEADINGS.  The headings to this Agreement are for convenience only, and
         are to be of no force or effect in  construing or  interpreting  any of
         the provisions of this Agreement.

12.8     GOVERNING  LAW.  This Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted in
         accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without reference to
         the conflict of law principles thereof and without regard to the United
         Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods.

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                                  CONFIDENTIAL

12.9     NOTICES AND DELIVERIES.  Any notice,  request,  delivery,  approval, or
         consent required or permitted to be given under this Agreement shall be
         in writing and shall be delivered personally (against a signed receipt)
         or by a nationally  recognized  overnight courier,  costs prepaid,  and
         shall be deemed to have been duly  given when so  delivered  in person,
         with  receipt  confirmed,  or one (1)  business  day  after the date of
         deposit with such nationally  recognized  overnight  courier.  All such
         notices,   requests,   deliveries,   approvals,   consents,   or  other
         communications  shall be  addressed  to the  respective  Parties at the
         addresses  set forth  below,  or to such  other  address as a Party may
         designate to the other Party in accordance herewith.

         12.9.1 If to MMI, addressed to:

                           MetaMorphix, Inc.
                           8510A Corridor Road
                           Savage, Maryland 20763
                           Attn: Edwin C. Quattlebaum, Ph.D., President and CEO

                     with a copy to:

                           Shapiro Sher & Guinot
                           36 S. Charles Street, Suite 2000
                           Baltimore, Maryland 21201
                           Attn: William E. Carlson, Esq.

         12.9.2 If to The Cargill Entities, addressed to:

                           Excel Corporation
                           151 North Main Street Wichita, Kansas 67202
                           Ken Bull

                     with a copy to:

                           Cargill, Incorporated
                           Law Department
                           15407 McGinty Road West
                           Wayzata, Minnesota 55391
                           Attn: Paul B. Savereide, Ph.D., Esq.

         Notices of meetings  of the  Steering  Committee  shall be given to its
         members at such  addresses  and in such  manner as may be, from time to
         time, requested by its members or determined by the Committee.

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                                  CONFIDENTIAL

12.10    COUNTERPARTS.   This   Agreement  may  be  executed  in  two  or.  more
         counterparts,  each of which  shall be deemed an  original,  but all of
         which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

12.11    FORCE  MAJEURE.  If the  performance  of any part of this  Agreement by
         either  Party,  or of any  obligation  under this  Agreement,  shall be
         prevented,  restricted,  interfered  with,  or delayed by reason of any
         cause  beyond the  reasonable  control of the Party  liable to perform,
         unless conclusive evidence to the contrary shall be provided, the Party
         so affected  shall,  upon giving written notice to the other Party,  be
         excused  from  such  performance  to the  extent  of  such  prevention,
         restriction,  interference,  or delay, provided that the affected Party
         shall use its commercially  reasonable  efforts to avoid or remove such
         causes of  non-performance  and  shall  continue  performance  with the
         utmost   dispatch   whenever   such  causes  are  removed.   When  such
         circumstances   arise,   the  Parties   shall  discuss  what,  if  any,
         modification of the terms of this Agreement may be required in order to
         arrive at an equitable solution.

12.12    DISPUTE  RESOLUTION.  MMI and The Cargill Entities shall deal with each
         other in good  faith.  In the event that a dispute  arises  between the
         Parties  concerning,  or in any way  relating to, this  Agreement,  the
         Parties shall  undertake  good faith  efforts to amicably  resolve such
         dispute.

         12.12.1  EXECUTIVE  OFFICERS.  In the event that the Parties are unable
                  to resolve any such dispute,  the matter shall be referred for
                  further  review  and  resolution  to  MMI's  Chief   Executive
                  Officer,  or another designated  representative of MMI, and to
                  the  President  of Excel  Corporation,  or another  designated
                  representative  of The Cargill  Entities,  who will attempt in
                  good faith and reasonable diligence to resolve the dispute.

         12.12.2  MEDIATION.  If the dispute is not resolved  within thirty (30)
                  days after referral under Section 12.12.1,  or such other time
                  as mutually agreed upon in writing by the Parties, the Parties
                  shall  submit  the  matter  to  non-binding  mediation  to  be
                  administered by the American Arbitration Association under its
                  Commercial Mediation Rules in effect at the time of mediation.
                  The  Party  desiring  such  mediation  shall  initiate  it  in
                  accordance with the Commercial  Mediation Rules. Upon delivery
                  of the mediation  request,  the Parties shall endeavor in good
                  faith to select a neutral  mediator who is  acceptable to each
                  Party. If the Parties have not selected a mutually  acceptable
                  neutral  mediator within five (5) business days after delivery
                  of the  mediation  request,  they shall  notify  the  American
                  Arbitration  Association and request the American  Arbitration
                  Association  to  appoint a  mediator  in  accordance  with the
                  Mediation Rules.  Unless otherwise agreed upon by the Parties,
                  all mediation sessions shall be held in Chicago, Illinois as a
                  neutral  location or, if several  sessions are to be held,  in
                  alternative  sessions in Denver,  Colorado  and in  Baltimore,
                  Maryland. The Parties shall

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                                  CONFIDENTIAL

                  endeavor  in good faith to resolve  the  dispute  through  the
                  mediation  process  contemplated  by this  Section and neither
                  Party  shall  be  entitled   unilaterally   to  terminate  the
                  mediation prior to thirty (30) days after the appointment of a
                  mediator.

         12.12.3  BINDING  ARBITRATION.  If the dispute is not resolved  through
                  mediation under Section 12.12.2,  the Parties shall submit the
                  matter  to  binding  arbitration  to be  administered  by  the
                  American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Rules in
                  effect at the time of  arbitration.  The Party  desiring  such
                  arbitration   shall   initiate  it  in  accordance   with  the
                  Commercial  Arbitration  Rules except as provided  below.  The
                  arbitration  shall be heard and determined by a panel of three
                  arbitrators  (at least one of which  shall  have  considerable
                  agribusiness  experience,  at least  one of which  shall  have
                  considerable  genomic  experience,  and at  least  one of whom
                  shall  be  a  practicing   lawyer  or  retired   judge).   The
                  arbitrators  shall be selected by the Parties  from a proposed
                  list of possible arbitrators provided by the AAA in accordance
                  with a process  determined  by the AAA.  The Parties  shall be
                  afforded reasonable  opportunity for discovery and the Federal
                  Rules of Discovery shall apply.  Unless  otherwise agreed upon
                  by the  Parties,  all  arbitration  sessions  shall be held in
                  alternative  sessions  in  Denver,   Colorado  and  Baltimore,
                  Maryland.  The decision of the arbitrators  shall be final and
                  binding upon Parties. Notwithstanding anything in this Section
                  12.12.3 to the contrary, such arbitration shall not proceed or
                  be  binding  if  there  is  either  any  third-party  claimant
                  involved in the specific  dispute proposed to be arbitrated or
                  any necessary third-party defendant or co-defendant.

         12.12.4  INJUNCTION.  Notwithstanding anything in this Section 12.12 to
                  the contrary, an aggrieved Party, to the extent that it may be
                  otherwise  be  entitled   under   applicable   law   governing
                  injunctions  and  equitable  relief,  may  seek  and  shall be
                  entitled to an injunction  prohibiting any material breach (or
                  other  equitable  relief) in regard to Article 4 or Article 5.
                  The Parties  recognize the  importance of the  confidentiality
                  and  publication  provisions  of  Article  4 and  intellectual
                  property  provisions  of  Article  5 and  acknowledge  that an
                  aggrieved Party could suffer irreparable harm as a result of a
                  material breach of such provisions.

         12.12.5  CONFIDENTIALITY.  The Parties  hereby  mutually agree that the
                  existence,  terms,  and  content  of  any  dispute  resolution
                  entered  into  pursuant  to  this  Agreement,  as  well as all
                  information or documents relating thereto, shall be maintained
                  in  confidence  and not be  given,  shown,  disclosed  to,  or
                  discussed  with any Third Party  except:  (a) by prior written
                  agreement of both Parties;  (b) during any legal proceeding to
                  protect  or  secure  a  Party's   rights  under  such  dispute
                  resolution;  (c)  counsel and  accountants  who shall agree to
                  maintain its confidentiality;

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                                  CONFIDENTIAL

                  (d)  to  the   extent   required   by   applicable   reporting
                  requirements; and (e) upon compulsory legal process.

IN WITNESS  WHEREOF,  the Parties have caused this Joint  Development  and Joint
Marketing Agreement to be executed by their respective duly authorized officers.

METAMORPHIX, INC.                     CARGILL, INCORPORATED

                                     By:

By:  /s/ Edwin C. Quattlebaum             /s/ William Buckner
    --------------------------           ---------------------------------
     Quattlebaum, Ph.D
     President and CEO                      Name:
                                            Title
     Date: May ___,2002
                                            Date: May 6, 2002

_________                             EXCEL CORPORATION

                                     By:  /s/ Kenneth Bull
                                        -----------------------------
                                          Name:
                                          Title:

                                          Date:  May 6, 2002

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                                  CONFIDENTIAL

                                    EXHIBIT A
                                   DEFINITIONS

1.       "Affiliates" shall mean any corporation,  firm,  partnership,  or other
         legal entity that, directly or indirectly,  controls, is controlled by,
         or is under common  control with any of the Parties.  A corporation  or
         other entity shall be regarded as in control of another  corporation or
         entity,  if: (a) in the case of corporate  entities it owns or directly
         or indirectly controls more than fifty percent (50%) of the outstanding
         voting stock or other  ownership  interest of the other  corporation or
         entity,  or if it  possesses,  directly  or  indirectly,  the  power to
         manage, direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of
         the  corporation or other entity or the power to elect or appoint fifty
         percent  (50%)  or more of the  members  of the  governing  body of the
         corporation  or  other  entity;  and (b) in the  case of  non-corporate
         entities,  direct or indirect ownership of at least fifty percent (50%)
         interest with the power to direct the  management  and policies of such
         non-corporate entities.

2.       "Annotation   Information"  shall  mean  the  information   derived  by
         analyzing the DNA Sequence  Information to identify features associated
         with the sequences,  and the functional information resulting from such
         analysis,  including,  but not limited to,  homology  information,  DNA
         sequence cluster and assembly identifiers, gene predictions,  orthologs
         and marker locations on chromosome maps

3.       "Celera" shall mean PE Corporation  (NY),  through its Celera  Genomics
         Group.

4.       "Complete  Delivery" shall mean MMI's delivery to The Cargill  Entities
         of all of the Deliverables set forth in the Work Plan.

5.       "Confidentiality    Agreements"   shall   mean,    collectively,    the
         non-disclosure  agreement  executed by The Cargill  Entities and Celera
         and dated April 18, 2001 (and to which  Celera has  assigned its rights
         to MMI)  and  the  non-disclosure  agreement  executed  by The  Cargill
         Entities and MMI and dated November 29, 2001.

 6.      "Confidential  Information"  shall mean the existence and terms of this
         Agreement,  the  Deliverables,   Records,  business  information,   and
         technical  information  relating to The Cargill Entities Material,  the
         Datasets,  The Cargill Entities  Technology,  MMI Technology,  or other
         information  belonging  to  the  disclosing  Party,  including,   where
         appropriate  and  without  limitation,   any  associated   information,
         business,  financial and  scientific  data,  DNA sequence  information,
         annotation  information,  invention  disclosures,  patent  disclosures,
         patent  applications,   structures,   models,  techniques,   processes,
         compositions,   compounds,   biological  samples,  and  the  like,  and
         bioinformatics   methods,    hardware   configurations   and   software
         (regardless of its stage of development), and the like.

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                                  CONFIDENTIAL

7.       "Dataset"  shall  mean  a  compilation  of  the  information  and  data
         resulting from MMI's activities under the Work Plan.

8.       "Default"  shall mean a breach or default of a material  obligation  of
         this Agreement and/or a false representation or warranty made by either
         party under this Agreement.

9.       "Deliverable" shall mean any of the Datasets, information, reports, and
         other items in whole or in part,  required to be provided by MMI to The
         Cargill  Entities  under the Work  Plan set forth in  Exhibit B of this
         Agreement.

10.      "DNA  Sequence   Information"  shall  mean  the  respective  consensus,
         nonredundant nucleotide sequences for the Samples.

11.      "Genotype"  shall  mean  the  specific  nucleic  acid  sequence  of  an
         individual found at a specific location in the genome.

12.      "Genotyping" shall mean the analysis of nucleic acid sequence variation
         at a specific location in the genome.

13.      "Indemnitee"  shall mean the Party that intends to seek compensation or
         protection pursuant to this Agreement.

14.      "Indemnitor"  shall  mean the  Party  from  whom the  Indemnitee  seeks
         compensation or protection.

15.      "Joint Commercialization Agreement" shall mean an agreement between the
         Parties regarding the sale, exploitation,  and commercialization of any
         products  or  services  relating  to  any  trait-specific  assay  that,
         individually or in combination, detects the Targeted Traits.

16.      "Joint Intellectual  Property" or "Joint IP" shall mean any technology,
         data, information,  inventions,  know-how, trade secrets, and the like,
         whether patentable or not, that are conceived, identified,  discovered,
         developed, or invented by the Parties or any of them pursuant to any of
         the  activities  conducted  pursuant  to the Work Plan.  Joint IP shall
         include all the Deliverables  described in the Work Plan, including but
         not limited to the Validated SNP Set (as defined in the Work Plan), the
         Associated  SNP Sets,  the Diagnostic SNP Sets for each of the Targeted
         Traits,   all  Datasets  (subject  to  Section  7.8),  all  information
         contained in any reports issued by MMI under the Work Plan, the results
         and data of the association  studies  (subject to Section 7.8), and any
         trait-specific  assay that individually or in combination,  detects the
         Targeted Traits.

17.      "MMI Technology" shall mean assay technology and all data, information,
         inventions,  know-how,  technology, trade secrets and the like, whether
         patentable  or not,  that are (a)  conceived,  identified,  discovered,
         developed, or invented in

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                                  CONFIDENTIAL

         whole  or  part-by  or on  behalf  of MMI  independent  of The  Cargill
         Entities and  independent of The Cargill  Entities  material and/or The
         Cargill Entities Technology,  including the Putative SNP Set and/or (b)
         acquired or licensed by MMI from Third Parties.

18.      "Payment  Schedule"  shall mean the payment terms for this Agreement as
         set forth in Exhibit C and all amendments thereto.

19.      "Publication"  shall  mean any  information  or data  that The  Cargill
         Entities seeks to disclose  electronically,  in writing or verbally, or
         make publicly available through any means,  including,  but not limited
         to, written document,  abstract, poster, chart, slide presentation,  or
         article.

20.      "Putative SNP Set" shall mean a set of at least  100,000  putative SNPs
         that  cover the bovine  genome  and have  known,  unique  locations  on
         Celera's human genome (to which MMI has access by a license agreement).

21.      "Samples"  shall  mean the  blood  samples  from  3,000  head of bovine
         animals used for meat  production  or  processing to be provided by The
         Cargill  Entities under Part 2 of the Work Plan, the blood samples from
         500 head of bovine animals used for meat production or processing to be
         provided by The  Cargill  Entities  under Part 4 of the Work Plan,  and
         other  biological  material  that The Cargill  Entities  supply to MMI.
         under the Work Plan.

22.      "Targeted Traits" shall mean the traits of ***

23.      "Term"  shall mean the period of time from the  Effective  Date through
         the later of the date on which MMI  provides  Complete  Delivery to The
         Cargill  Entities-or The Cargill Entities pays to MMI the final payment
         due under Section 3 (Payments) or the Agreement is otherwise terminated
         as provided for in this Agreement.

24.      "The Cargill  Entities  Material"  shall mean the  Samples,  phenotypic
         data, and other information required to be or otherwise provided by The
         Cargill Entities to MMI under the Work Plan.

25.      "The Cargill Entities Technology" shall mean all data, including bovine
         animals used for meat production or processing  phenotype data supplied
         by The Cargill Entities, information, inventions, know-how, technology,
         trade  secrets,  and the like  including  the  Samples  and The Cargill
         Entities  Material,  whether  patentable  or not,  that are  conceived,
         identified,  discovered,  developed, or invented in whole or part by or
         on behalf of The Cargill Entities independent of MMI.

26.      "Third Party" shall mean any  individual,  partnership,  joint venture,
         corporation, trust, estate, unincorporated organization,  government or
         any department or

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                                  CONFIDENTIAL

         agency  thereof,  or any other  entity other than either of The Cargill
         Entities or MMI or any Affiliates of the Parties.

27.      "Work Plan" shall  mean the  description  of the plan  under  which the
         Parties will fulfill their  obligations under this Agreement as set out
         in Exhibit B, and any amendments thereto.

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                                  CONFIDENTIAL

                                    EXHIBIT B
                                    WORK PLAN

                                    SNP MAPS

COMPLETED PART -- SNP MAP DEVELOPMENT
Completed by Celera Genomics,  licensor to MetaMorphix under a Livestock License
Agreement. Cost to Celera Genomics: ***

WORK PLAN
     o    ***

OUTCOME AND CELERA INPUT
     o    A set of at least *** putative  SNPs that cover the bovine  genome and
          have known, unique locations on Celera's *** (the "Putative SNP Set").

MMI RIGHTS AND ACCESS
     o    Celera  has  licensed  access to its bovine  SNP maps,  database,  and
          technology to MetaMorphix.

PART I -- SNP MAP VALIDATION
Anticipated Start Date:                      ***
Anticipated Completion Date:                 ***
Cost:                                        ***

WORK PLAN
     o    ***

DELIVERABLE

     o    The Validated SNP Set.
     o    A report detailing the Validated SNP Set including SNP identification,
          *** in each breed tested above.

          MMI may maintain the  confidentiality  of the SNP primer pairs and SNP
          amplicon  sequence,   i.e.,  marker  names  may  remain  anonymous  in
          accordance with Section 5.3.4.  In accordance with Section 5.3.4,  The
          Cargill  Entities  may inspect and assess the SNP primer pairs and SNP
          amplicon  sequence to assist The Cargill Entities in its determination
          under Section 3.3. Such inspection and assessment  shall not result in
          the disclosure of specific primer pair and sequence information to The
          Cargill Entities.

ACTION ITEM

     o    Steering Committee to make recommendations to the Parties to determine
          whether to continue or amend the Work Plan. A recommendation  shall be
          given to continue into

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<PAGE>

          Part 2 if the Deliverables are acceptable.

                                ASSOCIATION STUDY

ASSUMPTIONS

The plan for the  association  study is based on certain  assumptions,  which to
MMl's best knowledge will yield the expected outcomes,  but is subject to change
as new knowledge is acquired in the process.  MMI has yet to determine the final
genotyping  strategy to be used for the association  study.  MMI will choose the
strategy that delivers the most information the most efficiently.  In any event,
MMI will not attempt more than *** genotypes as part of the  association  study.
The total number of genotyping  reactions will depend upon a number of technical
factors that will become  evident as the research  progresses.  These  technical
factors include, but are not limited to:
     (i)   ***

     (ii)  ***
     (iii) ***
     (iv)  ***
     (v)   ***

The following plan represents MMl's reasonable  estimate of the work required to
reach the  program's  objectives,  but is  subject  to change  depending  on the
results  of  previous  steps,  the  performance  and  practicability  of the SNP
detection system concept, and changes in the technology.

PART 2 -- ASSOCIATION STUDY -- PHASE ONE
Anticipated Start Date:          ***
Anticipated Completion Date:     ***
Cost:                            ***

THE CARGILL ENTITIES INPUTS

     o    Twenty  milliliters  (20ml) blood  samples in EDTA tubes  (purple top)
          collected from *** to be delivered to MMI no later than ***.
     o    *** from each of the *** animals as follows, to be delivered to MMI no
          later than *** in  accordance  with  protocols  (e.g.,  refrigeration)
          reasonably established by MMI.

          ***

WORK PLAN
o    ***

                                       36
<PAGE>

DELIVERABLE
     o    MMI will screen *** Validated SNPs per thirty (30) days and deliver to
          The  Cargill  Entities,  after the end of each such  period,  a report
          listing all tested  SNPs,  SNP  genotypes of  genotyped  animals,  and
          association test statistics.

ACTION ITEM

     o    Steering Committee to make recommendations to the Parties to determine
          whether to continue or amend the Work Plan.

PART 3 -- ASSOCIATION STUDY -- PHASE TWO
Anticipated Start Date:          ***
Anticipated Completion Date:     ***
Cost:                            ***

MMI INPUT:
     o    As a result of Association  Study -- Phase One, MMI will have selected
          the Reduced SNP Set for use in Association Study -- Phase Two

WORK PLAN
     o    ***

DELIVERABLES
     o    The Associated SNP Sets.
     o    A report  listing all tested  SNPs,  SNP  genotypes  of all  genotyped
          animals,  association  test statistics and an ***. The report need not
          contain  such   information  as  is  maintained  as   confidential  in
          accordance with Section 5.3.4.

ANALYSIS OF ASSOCIATION STUDY

Under the guidance of the Steering  Committee,  the Parties will analyze the ***
data to  determine  whether  the  Associated  SNP Sets  can  lead to  acceptable
diagnostic  SNPs. The criteria will include  whether the  anticipated  SNP-based
diagnostic  test is likely to detect  *** in each of the  Targeted  Traits.  The
Parties will use the ***. The Parties will analyze genetic  relationships  among
all SNP markers to determine  if SNP markers for alleles that *** the  phenotype
for the other Targeted Traits.

The Parties  understand and acknowledge  that to create  significant  value, the
alleles  detected  by  diagnostic  SNP  markers  ***;   however,   the  Steering
Committee's  recommendation  regarding  continuing the program shall be based on
its  assessment of the potential  value that can be created by  implementing  an
SNP-based  diagnostic  test for a Targeted  Trait.  Specifically,  the  Steering
Committee  shall assess the probably "value added" benefit of the diagnostic SNP
marker Product and the cost per test.

ACTION ITEM
     o    Steering Committee to make recommendations to the Parties to determine
          whether to continue or amend the Work Plan. The  recommendation  shall
          be given to continue  into Part 4 if it can be  reasonably  envisioned
          that the Product will ***.

                                       37
<PAGE>

                               DIAGNOSTIC PRODUCTS

PART 4 -- DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF DIAGNOSTIC PRODUCTS
Anticipated Start Date:           ***
Anticipated Completion Date:      ***
Cost:                             ***

THE CARGILL ENTITIES INPUTS
     o    One (1) blood  samples in an EDTA tube  (purple top) with a minimum of
          ten (10) ml of blood will be collected from *** have been (or will be)
          collected to be  delivered  to MMI not later than ***. The  phenotypes
          will not be delivered to MMI.

WORK PLAN
     o    ***

DELIVERABLES
     o    Diagnostic SNP Sets for each of the Targeted Traits.

     o    A report  listing the  genotypes of each of the *** and the *** of the
          *** used in the validation study

EXHIBIT C
MILESTONES AND PAYMENTS

PART I -- SNP MAP VALIDATION

Anticipated Start Date:           ***
Anticipated Completion Date:      ***
Cost:                             ***

By *** MMI will deliver the Validated SNP Set and the report set forth in Part I
of the Work Plan detailing the Validated SNP.

PART 2 -- ASSOCIATION STUDY -- PHASE ONE

Anticipated Start Date:           ***
Anticipated Completion Date:      ***
Cost:                             ***

MMI will  screen  ***  Validated  SNPs per thirty  (30) days and  deliver to The
Cargill  Entities,  after the end of each such  period,  the report set forth in
Part 2 of the Work Plan.

PART 3 -- ASSOCIATION STUDY -- PHASE TWO

Anticipated Start Date:           ***

                                       38
<PAGE>

Anticipated Completion Date:      ***
Cost:                             ***

By ***,  MMI will  deliver the  Associated  SNP Sets and the report set forth in
Part 3 of the Work Plan.

PART 4 -- DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF DIAGNOSTIC PRODUCTS

Anticipated Start Date:           ***
Anticipated Completion Date:      ***
Cost:                             ***

By ***, MMI will deliver the Diagnostic SNP Sets for each of the Targeted Traits
and the report set forth in Part 4 of the Work Plan.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE

 Upon the full execution of this  Agreement,  The Cargill  Entities will make an
initial payment of *** (the "Initial Payment") to MMI. Thereafter, in accordance
with Section 3, The Cargill Entities shall remit the following payments,  except
for the Initial Payment, to MMI following the full and successful  completion of
each Part of the Work Plan, as follows:

                                                            --------------------
      Part I SNP Map Validation phase              ***        ***
      Part 2 Association Study -- Phase One        ***
      Part 3 Association Study -- Phase Two        ***
      Part 4 Development and Validation of         ***
                 Diagnostic Products
                                                            --------------------

V.       PAYMENTS & INVOICING

         All  payments  under this  Agreement  shall be made in U.S.  dollars by
         deposit to the credit and account of MMI as follows:

         BY MAIL TO:
         MetaMorphix, Inc.
         8510A Corridor Road
         Savage, Maryland 20763
         Attn:   Michael R.N. Thomas, Vice President and CFO

         BY WIRE TO:
         ***

                                       39
<PAGE>

         Invoices should be sent to:

         Excel Corporation
         151 N. Main Street
         Wichita, Kansas 67202
         Attn:   ***

                                       40

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