  Citation: Darma, A.; Yang, J.; Zandi, P.; Liu, J.; Mo˙ zd˙ ze ´ n, K.; Xia, X.; Sani, A.; Wang, Y.; Schnug, E. Significance of Shewanella Species for the Phytoavailability and Toxicity of Arsenic—A Review. Biology 2022, 11, 472. https://doi.org/10.3390/ biology11030472 Academic Editors: Mohamed Ibrahim and Muhamed Amin Received: 18 February 2022 Accepted: 16 March 2022 Published: 18 March 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). biology Review Significance of Shewanella Species for the Phytoavailability and Toxicity of Arsenic—A Review Aminu Darma 1,2 , Jianjun Yang 1, * , Peiman Zandi 3 , Jin Liu 4 , Katarzyna Mo ˙ zd˙ ze ´ n 5 , Xing Xia 1 , Ali Sani 2 , Yihao Wang 1 and Ewald Schnug 6, * 1 Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China; aidarma.bio@buk.edu.ng (A.D.); xiaxing@caas.cn (X.X.); wangyihao1996116@126.com (Y.W.) 2 Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Life Science, Bayero University, Kano 700006, Nigeria; asani.bio@buk.edu.ng 3 International Faculty of Applied Technology, Yibin University, Yibin 644600, China; peiman.zandi@yibinu.edu.cn 4 College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, China; jliu207@cau.edu.cn 5 Institute of Biology, Pedagogical University of Krakow, Podchor ˛ a˙ zych 2 St., 30-084 Krakow, Poland; kasiamozdzen@interia.pl 6 Department of Life Sciences, Institute for Plant Biology, Technical University of Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany * Correspondence: yangjianjun@caas.cn (J.Y.); 01732367829@vodafone.de (E.S.); Tel.: +86-010-82105996 (J.Y.) Simple Summary: The availability of some toxic heavy metals, such as arsenic (As), is related to increased human and natural activities. This type of metal availability in the environment is associated with various health and environmental issues. Such problems may arise due to direct contact with or consumption of plant products containing this metal in some of their parts. A microbial approach that employs a group of bacteria (Shewanella species) is proposed to reduce the negative consequences of the availability of this metal (As) in the environment. This innovative strategy can reduce As mobility, its spread, and uptake by plants in the environment. The benefits of this approach include its low cost and the possibility of not exposing other components of the environment to unfavourable consequences. Abstract: The distribution of arsenic continues due to natural and anthropogenic activities, with varying degrees of impact on plants, animals, and the entire ecosystem. Interactions between iron (Fe) oxides, bacteria, and arsenic are significantly linked to changes in the mobility, toxicity, and availability of arsenic species in aquatic and terrestrial habitats. As a result of these changes, toxic As species become available, posing a range of threats to the entire ecosystem. This review elaborates on arsenic toxicity, the mechanisms of its bioavailability, and selected remediation strategies. The article further describes how the detoxification and methylation mechanisms used by Shewanella species could serve as a potential tool for decreasing phytoavailable As and lessening its contamination in the environment. If taken into account, this approach will provide a globally sustainable and cost-effective strategy for As remediation and more information to the literature on the unique role of this bacterial species in As remediation as opposed to conventional perception of its role as a mobiliser of As. Keywords: arsenic; detoxification; dissimilatory arsenic-reducing bacteria (DARB); Shewanella species; transformation; remediation Highlights • Dissolution of As-bearing minerals by dissimilatory arsenic-reducing bacteria (DARB) releases As into the environment. Biology 2022, 11, 472. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11030472 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/biology