biostudies-literatureYu RGuangdong Provincial Introduction of Innovative Research and Development TeamNational Key R&D Program of ChinaKey Technologies Research and Development Program of Anhui Province75https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12690036biostudies-literatureUnknown5(1)Repeated occurrences of extreme weather events, such as low temperatures, due to global warming present a serious risk to the safety of wheat production. Quantitative assessment of frost damage can facilitate the analysis of key genetic factors related to wheat tolerance to abiotic stress. We collected 491 wheat accessions and selected four image-based descriptors (BLUE band, RED band, NDVI, and GNDVI) to quantitatively assess their frost damage. Image descriptors can complement the visual estimation of frost damage. Combined with genome-wide association study (GWAS), a total of 107 quantitative trait loci (QTL) (r² ranging from 0.75% to 9.48%) were identified, including the well-known frost-resistant locus Frost Resistance (FR)-A1/ Vernalization (VRN)-A1. Additionally, through Stress biologyGenome-wide association mapping and candidate genes analysis of high-throughput image descriptors for wheat frost tolerance.PMC12690036grant no. Ylzy-xm-012022-NK-125No.2022YFE0116200Wu JZeng QSu BYu RYuan MLiu SKang ZZhao YJiang PLiu YWang QOu JDong HLuo YZhang CXu XWang YZhao JHan DChen TfalseGenome-wide association mapping and candidate genes analysis of high-throughput image descriptors for wheat frost tolerance.Repeated occurrences of extreme weather events, such as low temperatures, due to global warming present a serious risk to the safety of wheat production. Quantitative assessment of frost damage can facilitate the analysis of key genetic factors related to wheat tolerance to abiotic stress. We collected 491 wheat accessions and selected four image-based descriptors (BLUE band, RED band, NDVI, and GNDVI) to quantitatively assess their frost damage. Image descriptors can complement the visual estimation of frost damage. Combined with genome-wide association study (GWAS), a total of 107 quantitative trait loci (QTL) (r² ranging from 0.75% to 9.48%) were identified, including the well-known frost-resistant locus Frost Resistance (FR)-A1/ Vernalization (VRN)-A1. Additionally, through 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Dec2026-07-15T11:46:59.704Z2026-07-05T03:08:24.469ZS-EPMC126900364136618410.1007/s44154-025-00257-2