Wild pulse accessions are considered a vital source of genes for insect resistance for crop improvement programmes. Wild pulses resistant to infestation towards the bruchid insect pest. Callosobruchus maculatus from South India were chosen to screen the existence of potent insecticidal protein, arcelin from APA locus (Arcelin/Phytohemagglutinin/alpha-Amylase inhibitor) to ascertain their nature and functional diversity without any specific indication for insect resistant factors. The DNA sequence coding for arcelin from various species of wild pulses were amplified, sequenced and deduced to their protein sequences. These protein sequences were examined physico-chemically using several bioinformatics tools and docked with various sugars to resolve the nature of arcelin molecules. Results indicated the presence of significant differences in the properties of arcelin molecules from various species of Indian wild pulses with their amino acid sequences, several physico-chemical properties and binding ability with sugars. The differences observed on these arcelin molecules from diverse wild pulses are predicted to provide a prospective insect pest control factors. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.