Cells with loss-of-heterozygosity after exposure to ionizing radiation in Drosophila are culled by p53-dependent and p53-independent mechanisms.

Loss of Heterozygosity (LOH) typically refers to a phenomenon in which diploid cells that are heterozygous for a mutant allele lose their wild type allele through mutations. LOH is implicated in oncogenesis when it affects the remaining wild type copy of a tumor suppressor. Drosophila has been a useful model to identify genes that regulate the incidence of LOH, but most of these studies use adult phenotypic markers such as multiple wing hair (mwh).