We have devised a procedure using monovalent phage display to select for stable mutants in the pro-domain of the serine protease, subtilisin BPN'. In complex with subtilisin, the pro-domain assumes a compact structure with a four-stranded antiparallel beta-sheet and two three-turn alpha-helices. When isolated, however, the pro-domain is 97% unfolded. These experiments use combinatorial mutagenesis to select for stabilizing amino acid combinations at a particular structural locus and determine how many combinations are close to the maximum protein stability. The selection for stability is based on the fact that the independent stability of the pro-domain is very low and that binding to subtilisin is thermodynamically linked to folding. Two libraries of mutant pro-domains were constructed and analyzed to determine how many combinations of amino acids at a particular structural locus result in the maximum stability. A library comprises all combinations of four amino acids at a structural locus. Previous studies using combinatorial genetics have shown that many different combinations of amino acids can be accommodated in a selected locus without destroying function. The present results indicate that the number of sequence combinations at a structural locus, which are close to the maximum stability, is small. The most striking example is a selection at an interior locus of the pro-domain. After two rounds of phagemid selection, one amino acid combination is found in 40% of sequenced mutants. The most frequently selected mutant has a deltaG(unfolding) = 4 kcal/mol at 25 degrees C, an increase of 6 kcal/mol relative to the naturally occurring sequence. Some implications of these results on the amount of sequence information needed to specify a unique tertiary fold are discussed. Apart from possible implications on the folding code, the phage display selection described here should be useful in optimizing the stability of other proteins, which can be displayed on the phage surface.