Sex-determining genes distinctly regulate courtship capability and target preference via sexually dimorphic neurons.

For successful mating, a male animal must execute effective courtship behaviors toward a receptive target sex, which is female. Whether the courtship execution capability and upregulation of courtship toward females are specified through separable sex-determining genetic pathways remains uncharacterized. Here, we found that one of the two sex-determining genes, (), specifies a male-specific neuronal component that serves as an execution mechanism for courtship behavior, whereas () is required for enhancement of courtship behavior toward females. The -dependent courtship execution mechanism includes a specific subclass within a neuronal cluster that co-express and . This cluster contains at least another subclass that is specified cooperatively by both and . Although these neuronal populations can also promote aggressive behavior toward male flies, this capacity requires -dependent mechanisms. Our results uncover how sex-determining genes specify execution capability and female-specific enhancement of courtship behavior through separable yet cooperative neurogenetic mechanisms.