Does "Operating outside the genetic machinery proper" mean...?

Question

Does "Operating outside the genetic machinery proper" mean "Operating properly outside the genetic machinery"?

Context:

Methylation is the attachment of a methyl group (one carbon and three hydrogens) to a DNA chain at certain spots (cytosine bases). When methylation occurs near a gene or inside a gene sequence, it generally is thought to turn the gene off and its removal is thought to turn the gene on. This back-and-forth change affects gene expression without changing the code we inherit from our parents. Operating outside the genetic machinery proper, epigenetic changes enable each cell type to do its unique job and to react to its environment.

More:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130825171530.htm

NL888 · Accepted Answer

And "its removal" mean "the removal of methylation" or "demethylation"?

AlpheccaStars · Answer

NL888Does "Operating outside the genetic machinery proper" mean "Operating properly outside the genetic machinery"?

No. Operating outside of the conventional limits (by definition) of the genetic machinery.

CalifJim · Answer

NL888When methylation occurs near a gene or inside a gene sequence, it generally is thought to turn the gene off and its removal is thought to turn the gene on.

its removal = the removal of the methyl group (CH₃) = demethylation

NL888Operating outside the genetic machinery proper, epigenetic changes ...

The adjective 'proper' has a different meaning when placed after the noun it modifies.

= Operating outside the genetic machinery itself = Operating by a mechanism different from the mechanism which is central to the usual operation of genes

That's why methylation and demethylation are not 'genetic', but 'epigenetic', i.e. "on top of genetics".

CJ

Does "Operating outside the genetic machinery proper" mean...?

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