Understanding how cellulose synthesis occurs is key to understanding the formation of the plant cell wall. This understanding could also be key to modifying cellulose production to permit more efficient extraction of glucose from cellulose for the production of biobased materials. Cellulose biosynthesis is carried out by cellulose synthases; transmembrane multimeric processive glycosyltransferases responsible for polymerizing UDP‐glucose into glucan chains. Thirty‐six glucan chains bind together in parallel to form elementary cellulose microfibrils. Due to the essential nature of cellulose synthases for plant survival and the recalcitrant nature of the cell wall to chemical and enzymatic digestion, the cellulose synthases can be very difficult to analyze by traditional approaches. In an attempt to circumvent some of the issues of studying cellulose synthases, the cellulose synthase genes CESA1 and CESA3, along with the cell wall associated genes COBRA, DET3 and POM1 were recombined into an engineered Autographa californica nucleopolyhedron virus and expressed in Spodoptera fruigiperda ovarian cells. Although recombinant protein could be detected for CESA1 and CESA3, C14‐glucose incorporation on baculovirus infected cell lines have given inconclusive results to the cellulose synthase activity of the CESA1 and CESA3 proteins. With further optimization of the protein expression of CESA1 and optimization of the variability in the C14‐glucose incorporation assays, the baculovirus system may prove a useful tool for studying the cellulose synthases. / UOIT