Final answer:
The potential for each committed spermatogonium to produce sixteen spermatozoa is due to spermatogenesis, which includes mitosis followed by two rounds of meiosis and subsequent sperm maturation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The observation that each committed spermatogonium can potentially produce sixteen spermatozoa can be explained by the process of spermatogenesis. During this process, the mitosis of a diploid spermatogonium results in the production of two types of cells: one continues to act as a stem cell, maintaining the population of spermatogonia, while the other becomes a primary spermatocyte.
The main goal of spermatogenesis is to convert these diploid cells into haploid spermatozoa, which contains just 23 chromosomes. This is achieved by the initial mitotic division to produce two identical cells, followed by two subsequent meiotic divisions that result in the formation of four spermatids from each primary spermatocyte. These four spermatids undergo further maturation to become four motile sperm cells. As this cycle starts approximately every 16 days, a continuous production of sperm is guaranteed.